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Falkenberg's Legion

Jerry Pournelle

1990

Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
A great start to a great series, August 11, 2001

Reviewer:
This book is the first of four novels, the next three being Prince of Sparta,
Go Tell The Spartans, and Prince Of Mercenaries. When I finished reading the
series I remembered a reviewer's comment about H. Beam Piper's classic book
Space Viking. "First you read it for the story, then you read it for the
characters, then you read it to see how a civilization dies, then you read it
to see how a civilization is born." This is a ripping good yarn. Unlike many
writers who do military Science Fiction Jerry Pournelle has been there, done
that. The battle scenes have the ring of authenticity. The details of
conventional and unconventional warfare are presented well and realistically.
This is not a great literary classic that will be taught in English LIt
classes, but the characters are well thought out and well written for an
action adventure novel. By the way, did anyone else catch the similarities
between Skilly and Two Knife and Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin in the
Modesty Blaise stories by Peter O'Donnell? The fall of the CoDominion and what
is left of a stagnant Terran civilization is written in a manner that is
disturbingly dark and realistic. This is a world that might have been. Jerry
Pournele's vision of military adventures in the twilight of empire owes much
to history. The notorious stadium massacre on Hadley is based on the Nike
riots in Byzantium. If you want a really good description of what happened in
Byzantium read David Drake's intro to his book Caught In The Crossfire, That's
one of the best descriptions I've run across. In his novel Jerry fleshes out
the bare facts with some political analysis which sheds some light on what may
have led to the riots in Byzantium. I've always been suspicious of the
official historical accounts. Finally this series shows how a civilization can
rise out of the ashes of a dying one. The fears, hopes, actions, and
motivations of the characters are well fleshed out. They aren't two
dimensional cardboard figures. Even the antagonists have good reasons for what
they do. These are people who literally have their world dying about them. All
in all I recommend this series. It's a great read.

CHRONOLOGY

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1969
Neil Armstrong sets foot on Earth's Moon.
1990–2000
Series of treaties between U.S. and Soviet Union creates the CoDominium.
Military research and development outlawed.
1995
Nationalist movements intensify.
1996
French Foreign Legion forms the basic element of the CoDominium Armed
Services.
2004
Alderson drive perfected at Cal Tech.
2008
First Alderson Drive exploratory ships leave the Solar System.
2010–2100
CoDominium Intelligence Services engage in serious effort to suppress all
research into technologies with military applications. They are aided by
zero-growth organizations. Most scientific research ceases.
2010
Inhabitable planets discovered. Commercial exploitation begins.
2020
First interstellar colonies are founded. The CoDominium Space Navy and Marines
are created, absorbing the original CoDominium Armed Services.
2020
Great Exodus period of colonization begins. First colonists are dissidents,
malcontents, and voluntary adventurers.
2030
Sergei Lermontov is born in Moscow.
2040
Bureau of Relocations begins mass outsystem shipment of involuntary colonists.
2043
John Christian Falkenberg III is born in Rome, Italy.
2060
Nationalistic revival movements continue.

Prologue
An oily, acrid smell assaulted him, and the noise was incessant. Hundreds of
thousands had passed through the spaceport. Their odor floated through the
embarcation hall to blend with the yammer of the current victims crammed into
the enclosure.
The room was long and narrow. White painted concrete walls shut out bright
Florida sunshine; but the walls were dingy with film and dirt that had been
smeared about and not removed by the Bureau of Relocation's convict laborers.
Cold luminescent panels glowed brightly above.
The smell and sounds and glare blended with his own fears. He didn't belong
here, but no one would listen. No one wanted to. Anything he said was lost in
the brutal totality of shouted orders, growls of surly trustee guards in their
wire pen running the full length of the long hall; screaming children; the
buzz of frightened humanity.
They marched onward, toward the ship that would take them out of the solar
system and toward an unknown fate. A few colonists blustered and argued. Some
suppressed rage until it might be of use. Most were ashen-faced, shuffling
forward without visible emotion, beyond fear.
There were red lines painted on the concrete floor, and the colonists stayed
carefully inside them. Even the children had learned to cooperate with
BuRelock's guards. The colonists had a sameness about them: shabbily dressed
in Welfare Issue clothing mixed with finery cast off by taxpayers and gleaned
from Reclamation Stores or by begging or from a Welfare District Mission.
John Christian Falkenberg knew he didn't look much like a typical colonist. He

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was a gangling youth, already at fifteen approaching six feet in height and
thin because he hadn't yet filled out to his latest spurt of growth. No one
would take him for a man, no matter how hard he tried to act like one.
A forelock of sand-colored hair fell across his forehead and threatened to
blind him, and he automatically brushed it aside with a nervous gesture. His
bearing and posture set him apart from the others, as did his almost comically
serious expression. His clothing was also unusual: it was new, and fit well,
and obviously not reclaimed. He wore a brocaded tunic of real wool and cotton,
bright flared trousers, a new belt, and a tooled leather purse at his left
hip. His clothes had cost more than his father could afford, but they did him
little good here. Still he stood straight and tall, his lips set in defiance.
John stalked forward to keep his place in the long line. His bag, regulation
space duffel without tags, lay in front of him and he kicked it forward rather
than stoop to pick it up. He thought it would look undignified to bend over,
and his dignity was all he had left.
Ahead of him was a family of five, three screaming children and their
apathetic parents—or, possibly, he thought, not parents. Citizen families were
never very stable. BuRelock agents often farmed out their quotas, and their
superiors were seldom concerned about the precise identities of those scooped
up.
The disorderly crowds moved inexorably toward the end of the room. Each line
terminated at a wire cage containing a plastisteel desk. Each family group
moved into a cage, the doors were closed, and their interviews began.
The bored trustee placement officers hardly listened to their clients, and the
colonists did not know what to say to them. Most knew nothing about Earth's
outsystem worlds. A few had heard that Tanith was hot, Fulson's World cold,
and Sparta a hard place to live, but free. Some understood that Hadley had a
good climate and was under the benign protection of American Express and the
Colonial Office. For those sentenced to transportation without confinement,
knowing that little could make a lot of difference to their futures; most
didn't know and were shipped off to labor-hungry mining and agricultural
worlds, or the hell of Tanith, where their lot would be hard labor, no matter
what their sentences might read.
The fifteen-year-old boy—he liked to consider himself a man, but he knew many
of his emotions were boyish no matter how hard he tried to control them—had
almost reached the interview cage. He felt despair.
Once past the interview, he'd be packed into a BuRelock transportation ship.
John turned again toward the gray-uniformed guard standing casually behind the
large-mesh protective screen. "I keep trying to tell you, there's been a
mistake! I shouldn't—"
"Shut up," the guard answered. He motioned threateningly with the bell-shaped
muzzle of his sonic stunner. "It's a mistake for everybody, right? Nobody
belongs here. Tell the interview officer, sonny."
John's lip curled, and he wanted to attack the guard, to make him listen. He
fought to control the rising flush of hatred. "Damn you, I—"
The guard raised the weapon. The Citizen family in front of John huddled
together, shoving forward to get away from this mad kid who could get them all
tingled. John subsided and sullenly shuffled forward in the line.
Tri-V commentators said the stunners were painless, but John wasn't eager to
have it tried on him. The Tri-V people said a lot of things. They said most
colonists were volunteers, and they said transportees were treated with
dignity by the Bureau of Relocation.
No one believed them. No one believed anything the government told them. They
did not believe in the friendship among nations that had created the
CoDominium, or in the election figures, or—
He reached the interview cage. The trustee wore the same uniform as the
guards, but his gray coveralls had numbers stenciled across back and chest.
There were wide gaps between the man's jaggedly pointed teeth, and the teeth
showed yellow stains when he smiled. He smiled often, but there was no warmth
in the expression.

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"Whatcha got for me?" the trustee asked. "Boy dressed like you can afford
anything he wants. Where you want to go, boy?"
"I'm not a colonist," John insisted. His anger rose. The trustee was no more
than a prisoner himself—what right had he to speak this way? "I demand to
speak with a CoDominium officer."
"One of those, huh?" The trustee's grin vanished. "Tanith for you." He pushed
a button and the door on the opposite side of the cage opened. "Get on," he
snapped. "Fore I call the guards." His finger poised menacingly over the small
console on his desk.
John took papers out of an inner pocket of his tunic. "I have an appointment
to CoDominium Navy Service," he said. "I was ordered to report to Canaveral
Embarcation Station for transport by BuRelock ship to Luna Base."
"Get movin!—uh?" The trustee stopped himself and the grin reappeared. "Let me
see that." He held out a grimy hand.
"No." John was more sure of himself now. "I'll show them to any CD officer,
but you won't get your hands on them. Now call an officer."
"Sure." The trustee didn't move. "Cost you ten credits."
"What?"
"Ten credits. Fifty bucks if you ain't got CD credits. Don't give me that
look, kid. You don't pay, you go on the Tanith ship. Maybe they'll put things
straight there, maybe they won't, but you'll be late reporting. Best you slip
me something."
John held out a twenty-dollar piece. "That all you got?" the trustee demanded.
"OK, OK, have to do." He punched a code into the phone, and a minute later a
petty officer in blue CoDominium Space Navy coveralls came into the cage.
"What you need, Smiley?"
"Got one of yours. New middy. Got himself mixed up with the colonists." The
trustee laughed as John struggled to control himself.
The petty officer eyed Smiley with distaste. "Your orders, sir?" he said.
John handed him the papers, afraid that he would never see them again. The
Navy man glanced through them. "John Christian Falkenberg?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, sir." He turned to the trustee. "Gimme."
"Aw, he can afford it."
"Want me to call the Marines, Smiley?"
"Jesus, you hardnosed—" The trustee took the coin from his pocket and handed
it over.
"This way, please, sir," the Navy man said. He bent to pick up John's duffel.
"And here's your money, sir."
"Thanks. You keep it."
The petty officer nodded. "Thank you, sir. Smiley, you bite one of our people
again and I'll have the Marines look you up when you're off duty. Let's go,
sir."
John followed the spacer out of the cubicle. The petty officer was twice his
age, and no one had ever called John "sir" before. It gave John Falkenberg a
sense of belonging, a sense of having found something he had searched for all
his life. Even the street gangs had been closed to him, and friends he had
grown up with had always seemed part of someone else's life, not his own. Now,
in seconds, he seemed to have found—found what, he wondered.
They went through narrow whitewashed corridors, then into the bright Florida
sunshine. A narrow gangway led to the forward end of an enormous winged
landing ship that floated at the end of a long pier crowded with colonists and
cursing guards.
The petty officer spoke briefly to the Marine sentries at the officers'
gangway, then carefully saluted the officer at the head of the boarding
gangway. John wanted to do the same, but he knew that you didn't salute in
civilian clothing. His father had made him read books on military history and
the customs of the Service as soon as he decided to find John an appointment
to the Academy.
Babble from the colonists filled the air until they were inside the ship. As

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the hatch closed behind him the last sounds he heard were the curses of the
guards.
* * *
"If you please, sir. This way." The petty officer led him through a maze of
steel corridors, airtight bulkheads, ladders, pipes, wire races, and other
unfamiliar sights. Although the CD Navy operated it, most of the ship belonged
to BuRelock, and she stank. There were no viewports and John was lost after
several turns in the corridors.
The petty officer led on at a brisk pace until he came to a door that seemed
no different from any other. He pressed a button on a panel outside it.
"Come in," the panel answered.
The compartment held eight tables, but only three men, all seated at a single
booth. In contrast to the gray steel corridors outside, the compartment was
almost cheerful, with paintings on the walls, padded furniture, and what
seemed like carpets.
The CoDominium seal hung from the far wall—American eagle and Soviet sickle
and hammer, red, white, and blue, white stars and red stars.
The three men held drinks and seemed relaxed. All wore civilian clothing not
much different from John's except that the older man wore a more conservative
tunic. The others seemed about John's age, perhaps a year older; no more.
"One of ours, sir," the petty officer announced. "New middy got lost with the
colonists."
One of the younger men laughed, but the older cut him off with a curt wave.
"All right, Cox'n. Thank you. Come in, we don't bite."
"Thank you, sir," John said. He shuffled uncertainly in the doorway, wondering
who these men were. Probably CD officers, he decided. The petty officer
wouldn't act that way toward anyone else. Frightened as he was, his analytical
mind continued to work, and his eyes darted around the compartment.
Definitely CD officers, he decided. Going back up to Luna Base after leave, or
perhaps a duty tour in normal gravity. Naturally they'd worn civilian
clothing. Wearing the CD uniform off duty earthside was an invitation to be
murdered.
"Lieutenant Hartmann, at your service," the older man introduced himself. "And
Midshipmen Rolnikov and Bates. Your orders, please?"
"John Christian Falkenberg, sir," John said. "Midshipman. Or I guess I'm a
midshipman. But I'm not sure. I haven't been sworn in or anything."
All three men laughed at that. "You will be, Mister," Hartmann said. He took
John's orders. "But you're one of the damned all the same, swearing in or no."
He examined the plastic sheet, comparing John's face to the photograph, then
reading the bottom lines. He whistled. "Grand Senator Martin Grant. Appointed
by the Navy's friend, no less. With him to bat for you, I wouldn't be
surprised to see you outrank me in a few years."
"Senator Grant is a former student of my father's," John said.
"I see," Hartmann returned the orders and motioned John to sit with them. Then
he turned to one of the other midshipmen. "As to you, Mister Bates, I fail to
see the humor. What is so funny about one of your brother officers becoming
lost among the colonists? You have never been lost?"
Bates squirmed uncomfortably. His voice was high-pitched, and John realized
that Bates was no older than himself. "Why didn't he show the guards his
taxpayer status card?" Bates demanded. "They would have taken him to an
officer. Wouldn't they?"
Hartman shrugged.
"I didn't have one," John said.
"Um." Hartmann seemed to withdraw, although he didn't actually move. "Well,"
he said. "We don't usually get officers from Citizen families—"
"We are not Citizens," John said quickly. "My father is a CoDominium
University professor, and I was born in Rome."
"Ah," Hartman said. "Did you live there long?"
"No, sir. Father prefers to be a visiting faculty member. We have lived in
many university towns." The lie came easily now, and John thought that

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Professor Falkenberg probably believed it after telling it so many times. John
knew better: he had seen his father desperate to gain tenure, but always,
always making too many enemies.
He is too blunt and too honest. One explanation. He is a revolving S.O.B. and
can't get along with anyone. That's another. I've lived with the situation so
long I don't care anymore. But, it would have been nice to have a home, I
think.
Hartmann relaxed slightly, "Well, whatever the reason, Mister Falkenberg, you
would have done better to arrange to be born a United States taxpayer. Or a
Soviet party member. Unfortunately, you, like me, are doomed to remain in the
lower ranks of the officer corps."
There was a trace of accent to Hartmann's voice, but John couldn't place it
exactly. German, certainly; there were many Germans in the CD fighting
services. This was not the usual German though; John had lived in Heidelberg
long enough to learn many shades of the German speech. East German? Possibly.
He realized the others were waiting for him to say something. "I thought, sir,
I thought there was equality within the CD services."
Hartmann shrugged. "In theory, yes. In practice—the generals and admirals,
even the captains who command ships, always seem to be Americans or Soviets.
It is not the preference of the officer corps, Mister. We have no countries of
origin among ourselves and no politics. Ever. The Fleet is our fatherland, and
our only fatherland." He glanced at his glass. "Mister Bates, we need more to
drink, and a glass for our new comrade. Hop it."
"Aye, aye, sir." The pudgy middy left the compartment, passing the unattended
bar in the corner on his way. He returned a moment later with a full bottle of
American whiskey and an empty glass.
Hartmann poured the glass full and pushed it toward John. "The Navy will teach
you many things, Mister Midshipman John Christian Falkenberg. One of them is
to drink. We all drink too much. Another thing we will teach you is why we do,
but before you learn why, you must learn to do it."
He lifted the glass. When John raised his and took only a sip, Hartmann
frowned. "More," he said. The tone made it an order.
John drank half the whiskey. He had been drinking beer for years, but his
father did not often let him drink spirits. It did not taste good, and it
burned his throat and stomach.
"Now, why have you joined our noble band of brothers?" Hartmann asked. His
voice carried a warning: he used bantering words, but under that was a more
serious mood—perhaps he was not mocking the Service at all when he called it a
band of brothers.
John hoped he was not. He had never had brothers. He had never had friends, or
a home, and his father was a harsh schoolmaster, teaching him many things, but
never giving him any affection—or friendship.
"I—"
"Honesty," Hartmann warned. "I will tell you a secret, the secret of the
Fleet. We do not lie to our own." He looked at the other two midshipmen, and
they nodded, Rolnikov slightly amused, Bates serious, as if in church.
"Out there," Hartmann said, "out there they lie, and they cheat, and they use
each other. With us this is not true. We are used, yes. But we know that we
are used, and we are honest with each other. That is why the men are loyal to
us. And why we are loyal to the Fleet."
And that's significant, John thought, because Hartmann had glanced at the
CoDominium banner on the wall, but he said nothing about the CD at all. Only
the Fleet. "I'm here because my father wanted me out of the house and was able
to get an appointment for me," John blurted.
"You will find another reason, or you will not stay with us," Hartmann said.
"Drink up."
"Yes, sir."
"The proper response is 'aye aye, sir.'"
"Aye aye, sir." John drained his glass.
Hartmann smiled. "Very good." He refilled his glass, then the others. "What is

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the mission of the CoDominium Navy, Mister Falkenberg?"
"Sir? To carry out the will of the Grand Senate—"
"No. It is to exist. And by existing, to keep some measure of peace and order
in this corner of the galaxy. To buy enough time for men to get far enough
away from Earth that when the damned fools kill themselves they will not have
killed the human race. And that is our only mission."
"Sir?" Midshipman Rolnikov spoke quietly and urgently. "Lieutenant, sir,
should you drink so much?"
"Yes. I should," Hartmann replied. "I thank you for your concern, Mister
Rolnikov. But as you see, I am, at present, a passenger. The Service has no
regulation against drinking. None at all, Mister Falkenberg. There is a strong
prohibition against being unfit for one's duties, but none against drinking.
And I have no duties at the moment." He raised his glass. "Save one. To speak
to you, Mister Falkenberg, and to tell you the truth, so that you will either
run from us or be damned with us for the rest of your life, for we never lie
to our own."
He fell silent for a moment, and Falkenberg wondered just how drunk Hartmann
was. The officer seemed to be considering his words more carefully than his
father ever had when he was drinking.
"What do you know of the history of the CoDominium Navy, Mister Falkenberg?"
Hartmann demanded.
Probably more than you, John thought. Father's lecture on the growth of the
CoDominium was famous. "It began with détente. That collapsed, but was
revived, and soon there was a web of formal treaties between the United States
and the Soviet Union. The treaties did not end the basic enmity between these
great powers, but their common interest was greater than their differences;
for it was obviously better that there be only two great powers, than for
there to be . . ." No. Hartmann did not want to hear Professor Falkenberg's
lecture. "Very little, sir."
"We were created out of the French Foreign Legion," Hartmann said. "A legion
of strangers, to fight for an artificial alliance of nations that hate each
other. How can a man give his soul and life to that, Mister Falkenberg? What
heart has an alliance? What power to inspire men's loyalty?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Nor do they." Hartmann waved at the other middies, who were carefully leaning
back in their seats, acting as if they were listening, as if they were not
listening—John couldn't tell. Perhaps they thought Hartmann was crazy drunk.
Yet it had been a good question.
"I don't know," John repeated.
"Ah. But no one knows, for there is no answer. Men cannot die for an alliance.
Yet we do fight. And we do die."
"At the Senate's orders," Midshipman Rolnikov said quietly.
"But we do not love the Senate," Hartmann said. "Do you love the Grand Senate,
Mister Rolnikov? Do you, Mister Bates? We know what the Grand Senate is.
Corrupt politicians who lie to each other, and who use us to gather wealth for
themselves, power for their own factions. If they can. They do not use us as
much as they once did. Drink, gentlemen. Drink."
The whiskey had taken its effect, and John's head buzzed. He felt sweat break
out at his temples and in his armpits, and his stomach rebelled, but he lifted
the glass and drank again, in unison with Rolnikov and Bates, and it was more
meaningful than the Communion cup had ever been. He tried to ask himself why,
but there was only emotion, no thought. He belonged here, with this man, with
these men, and he was a man with them.
As if he had read John's thoughts, Lieutenant Hartmann put his arms out,
across the shoulders of the three boys, two on his left, John alone on his
right, and he lowered his voice to speak to all of them. "No. We are here
because the Fleet is our only fatherland, and our brothers in the Service are
our only family. And if the Fleet should ever demand our lives, we give them
as men because we have no other place to go."

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PART ONE: THE CODOMINIUM YEARS
I
Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
The student lounge was noisy as usual. Students in bright tunics sipped coffee
paid for by their taxpayer parents, and spoke of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen. Others pretended to read while looking to see if anyone interesting
had come in. In one corner three young men and a girl—she detested being
called a 'young lady'—sat playing bridge. They were typical students, children
of taxpayers, well dressed in the latest fashions of subdued colors. Their
teeth were straight, their complexions were good. Two of the boys wore contact
lenses. The girl, in keeping with fashion, wore large brightly colored glasses
with small jewels at the hinges. The remains of their afternoon snack probably
contained as many calories as the average Citizen would have for the day.
"Three No Trump, made four. That's game and rubber," Donald Etheridge said. He
scribbled for a moment on the score sheet. "Let's see, I owe twenty-two fifty.
Moishe, you owe eleven and a quarter. Richie gets nine bucks, and Bonnie wins
the rest."
"You always win," Richard Larkin said accusingly.
Bonnie Dalrymple smiled. "Comes of clean living."
"You?" Donald smirked.
"Don't you just wish," Richie said. He glanced at his watch. "Getting on for
class time. Visiting lecturer today."
Moishe Ellison frowned. "Who?"
"Chap named Falkenberg," Larkin said. "Professor at the CD University in Rome.
Going to lecture on problems of the CoDominium. Today it's military
leadership."
"Oh, I know him," Bonnie Dalrymple said.
"Is he interesting?" Moishe asked. "I've got a lot to do this afternoon."
"He's dense," Bonnie said. She grinned at the blank looks. "Packs a lot into
what he says. Makes every paragraph count. I think you better come listen."
"What did you take from him?" Richard Larkin asked.
"Oh, I wasn't old enough to take his classes. Actually, I didn't know
Professor Falkenberg very well, I used to be friends with his son. John
Christian Falkenberg the Third. It was when Daddy was stationed at the Embassy
in Rome. Johnny Falkenberg and I wandered all over the city. He knew
everything about it, it was really fun. The Capitoline Hill, with the statues,
and up there is the Tarpeian Rock where they threw traitors off—it's not so
high, really. And we'd go to the Via Flaminia. We used to tramp down that and
Johnny sang this old Roman marching song. 'When you go by the Via Flaminia, by
the Legion's road from Rome—'"
"Fun date."
"Wasn't really dating. He was about fourteen and I was twelve, we were just
kids out playing around. But we had fun, really. I guess I was studious,
then."
"Heh. You still are. You aced me in that last test," Moishe Ellison said.
"Well, if you'd work more instead of running around with that girl—"
Ellison winked, and the others laughed. They got up and walked together toward
the lecture hall. The smog was bad outside, but it always was, so they didn't
notice. "So how do you know about old man Falkenberg's lectures?"
Bonnie laughed. "Johnny used to take me to his house. Usually there wasn't
anyone there but this old black housekeeper, but sometimes the Professor would
come home early, and when he did, he'd ask where we'd been. Then he'd tell us
all about it. All about it, wherever we'd been."
"Oh."
"Actually, it was interesting. Rome was nice then, there were a lot of old
buildings I guess they've let fall down now, and the Professor knew about all
of them. But he wasn't as interesting as when Johnny told me—I guess I had
quite a crush on him." Bonnie laughed.
"That's what's wrong with her," Richie said. "She's never got over her
youthful affair with—what was his name?"

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"John Christian Falkenberg, the Fourth." Moishe Ellison let the name roll off
his tongue.
"Third," Bonnie said. "And maybe you're right."
They reached Smith Hall and went up the marble stairs to the lecture theatre.
* * *
Professor Falkenberg was tall and thin, with a surprisingly deep voice that
carried authority. Hasn't changed a bit, Bonnie thought. He could read the
phone book and make it sound important.
Falkenberg nodded to the students. "Good afternoon. I am pleased to see that
there are still a few students in the United States who are interested in
history.
"I wish to examine the origins of the CoDominium. To do that, we will have to
look at just what happened to the United States and the Soviet Union whose
uneasy alliance has produced our modern world. Friends in the Second World
War, enemies in the Cold War—how did it happen that these two divided the
world between them?
"There are many aspects to this problem. One is the decline of military power
in both nations. That in itself has many facets.
"Today we will discuss military leadership, both as a general case and in the
specifics of the powers at the time of interest. I begin with a few brief
paragraphs by Joseph Maxwell Cameron, a writer of the last century, who said,
in his Anatomy of Military Merit:"
Professor Falkenberg opened his pocket computer and touched a key, then began
to read.
* * *
"'Armies are controlled by the actions of two classes of men in authority that
are distinct on the surface by levels of rank, but whose significant
difference is in the sources of their authority. One class acts on the
authority vested in it by the sovereign power. The other acts by authority
derived of appointment by the first. This is not a chance relationship but one
directed by a natural ruling principle. The 'commissioned' officer acts in the
name of sovereign power and, or, by order of its commissioned superiors to
himself. The 'non-commissioned' officer exercises equally valid and at times
absolute authority, but he holds it from the commissioned officer who
appointed him and who can at his discretion remove the office. Few controlling
principles are as little understood in current times as these that define the
relationships of commissioned and non-commissioned ranks to each other, the
government, and to the ordinary soldier. Promotion given as reward, rank seen
as caste and pay as incentive in the profession, occupation, or career in arms
are the villains that cloud the issues. A private soldier can prove himself of
equal value to a general officer, in fact has often done so; and always by
being the soldier who knew his business, whatever his immediate motivation. A
hierarchy of ranks invented to increase prestige and pay can rob a military
body of much of its power while enjoying general approval of what are
considered benefits. One of the sure signs of a military system in decay is
the appearance of an excess ratio of persons in designated authority over the
numbers of those who serve to follow. The optimum ratio may vary a little
according to current armaments, but with little else.
"'Because of its specific roles and purposes an army has an optimum design and
structure of control mechanisms, instrumentation, and appendages. It is at
best simple, devoted to the smooth and graceful application of power to motion
and impact. In an almost totally industrial and technocratic time, however,
the existence of a natural pattern tends to be forgotten as normal members and
appendages are tortured and distorted to conform to the caprices of machines.
Military monstrosities analogous to anencephalic and three legged children are
born and nursed toward ultimate impotence. They are quite horribly obvious
except to minds bemused by the magic of technology. . . .'"
Falkenberg closed his computer and smiled thinly. "Those words were written
shortly before the United States acquired, in what was supposed to be peace
time, approximately twice as many general officers as it had employed during

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the conflict known as the Second World War, despite having a much smaller
military establishment. Nor was this all. The ratio of officers to men began
to creep upward, inexorably; and since the optimum ratio is perhaps five
percent, and some elite organizations have done with less, it should be no
surprise that as the United States military establishment moved toward one
officer for each dozen men—and one general officer for each fifteen
hundred—the effectiveness of the system declined accordingly.
"Military managers are easy enough to come by. Real leaders are rare."
* * *
"You were right about the density," Moishe Ellison said.
Bonnie giggled. "He hasn't changed much, that's for sure."
"And you only heard him at home? Wonder his kid didn't go nuts. Whatever
happened to him, anyway?"
"He got in some kind of trouble," Bonnie said.
"And no wonder." Richie chuckled.
"I don't know what it was," Bonnie said. "But the next thing I knew, Johnny
was off to the CoDominium Academy. We used to write, but when he graduated and
was sent off on a ship, well—"
"You sound like you miss him," Moishe said.
"Yeah, hey, you never get that tone of voice when you talk about me," Richie
said.
"That'll be the day," Moishe said. "You ever hear from him?"
Bonnie shook her head.

II
Angela Niles fought for wakefulness. It seemed to take a long time. At one
level she knew she was dreaming, but it was still real: the crowded alleys of
High Shanghai, thousands of men and women in blue canvas clothing, not quite
uniforms but so alike they looked like blue ants. They were shouting,
screaming words she could not understand, but what they intended was clear
enough. The blue ants were coming to kill her. She ran, and suddenly she
wasn't alone, there were blue and gold uniforms, a different blue, CoDominium
blue, and the tiny squad of CoDominium troops clustered around her. They
pulled her away from the mob, then turned, fired a volley, then another, and
the blue ants screamed and halted for a moment.
"Fall back." The Navy lieutenant spoke calmly. "First squad. Fall back toward
the harbor. Kewney."
"Sir."
Cousin Harold. How did Cousin Harold get here? But he was here, in the uniform
of a Navy middie.
"Can you fly that boat?"
"No, sir."
"The cox'n was killed."
"Yes, sir, I know."
"Right. All right, Midshipman. Fall back with the first squad. Halt while
we're still in sight, and take defensive positions. Signal when you're ready.
We'll hold here. Miss, you go with him—"
"But, yes, but, Harold, what are you doing here, who is this, what—"
"No time, Angie. Let's go!"
They ran, and now it was certainly a dream, because she couldn't move, her
legs wouldn't work, she tried to run and couldn't—
"Try to remember," a voice said. Whose? "What happened then?"
Running. A Marine was holding her arm. Suddenly he stopped. His eyes grew very
wide, and he stood, stock still, in the middle of the street. A long thin
steel rod grew out of his chest, and blood came out of his mouth, and he
crumpled, slowly, slowly—
"Come on Angie, run, dammit!"
Run. Then they were at the end of the block, and turned the corner, and she
could see the harbor, not far away, with the long slender shape of the landing
craft, and three sailors at the landing with guns, and the turret on top

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swiveled.
Harold touched his sleeve and spoke rapidly into the communicator card. There
was more gunfire, and more people screaming, then the CoDominium lieutenant
and his party came running down the street.
"Almost there," Harold said.
"Get her into the ship," the Lieutenant said.
"Sir, you can fly the damn thing. You get her on the ship."
He was very young, that lieutenant, no more than a boy, he looked so thin and
so very young, no older than Harold. "Three minutes," he said. "Three minutes,
Kewney, then run like hell."
Harold grinned. "You know it. Ready? Go for it!"
And the lieutenant took her hand and ran with her, pulling her along, and the
turret guns fired over their heads, and there was more shooting, and noise
everywhere. Something exploded close to them and one of the dockside sailors
went down. The lieutenant shouted into his sleeve mike, "Mortars! Run for it,
Kewney. NOW!" And dragged her on, to the boarding port, threw her into the
cabin.
"Sound Board Ship!"
Recorded bugle notes blared into the bright afternoon. The lieutenant ran
forward and moments later there were rumbles. Something exploded outside the
hatchway, and a swarm of angry bees came through the open hatch, whipped past
her and clattered against the bulkheads. There was another explosion.
"We're hulled!" a sailor shouted.
The engine sounds were louder now. She ran to the hatchway to look out, and
shouted for Harold. She couldn't see anyone.
"Clear the hatch!" someone shouted. There were whirs and the hatchway began to
close. She felt motion as the ship began to move.
"Harold! Harold!" And there was Harold, only he was an old man, and his face
was melting, and then he was gone, and there was another man, and the ship
began to fade and she was in a white room in bed, a hospital room, and the men
beside the bed were a doctor in a white coat and a CoDominium Navy Commander,
very thin. She knew them both. How? Who were they? Lermontov. That was his
name. How did she know that?
"Did you ever see Midshipman Kewney again?" Commander Lermontov asked.
"No. I never saw him after we left him at the corner, on the street of—the
Street of Three Moons." Her throat was dry, and her left arm hurt. She
couldn't move it, and when she looked she saw that it was strapped to a board,
and there was an IV inserted at the elbow. And she remembered. Pentothal,
something like that. They wanted to question her. What had she told them?
* * *
"I've told you everything," she said. "Three times, and whatever I said when I
was drugged. Why do we have to go over this again?"
"Your Uncle has demanded thorough investigation," Commander Lermontov said.
"And that he will have." He used his stylus on the screen of his pocket
computer. "So. You last saw Midshipman Kewney at corner, where he was ordered
by Lieutenant Falkenberg to hold for three minutes before retreating."
"Actually Harold volunteered—"
"Yes. Thank you. How long after that order was given did ship begin to move?"
"I don't know—"
"Doctor says you believe was less than three minutes."
"How does he know?"
"I don't know," the white-coated man said. "I can only try to construct events
from your memories. Based on what we heard, I conclude that you don't really
know, but you suspect that Falkenberg took off as soon as he got you to the
ship."
"What does he say?" Angela asked.
"You already know that," Doctor Wittgenstein said.
"He told me Harold was hit by mortar fire before we got to the boat."
"But you don't believe him."
"I don't—I don't know what to believe," she said.

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"Boat lifted," Lermontov said. "It had not enough fuel to go to orbit, and was
damaged."
Angela shuddered. "More damage than—I was shocked when we landed and I could
look. It was amazing that it would fly."
"Buna class boat is designed to take damage. So. Falkenberg landed boat at
offshore island. What happened there?"
"Nothing. It was perfectly safe there, the people were Thai, no Chinese. Very
friendly. It was—nice there, safe and peaceful. So we waited, three weeks
until the Navy could send another ship down with a repair crew. Then I was
taken to Government House, and John—Lieutenant Falkenberg was sent to his
ship. Nothing happened."
"Something happened," Lermontov said.
She frowned at his tone. "What do you mean?"
"Doctor—"
"Miss Niles, you are a month pregnant."
"Oh."
"You do not seem surprised. You took no precautions?"
She felt herself blushing.
"Miss Niles, I have daughter nearly your age," Lermontov said. "You took no
precautions?"
She tried to sound casual. "I wasn't thinking about that at the time."
"Nor, apparently, was Lieutenant," Lermontov said. "In this era of disease you
were perhaps foolhardy."
Angela shrugged. "Actually, there were no precautions to take—"
"On Navy ship there will always be kits," Lermontov said. "But you are in fact
correct. Medical cabinet was damaged along with much other equipment."
"Commander, I fail to see how my condition is relevant—"
"Your uncle will not fail to see," Lermontov said. "Foolhardy young
Falkenberg, sacrifices promising Midshipman grandson of Grand Senator, in
order to save himself. Then seduces Grand Senator's niece." Lermontov stared
pointedly at her midriff. "Evidence will be unmistakable in few weeks."
"Oh. Do you— I guess Uncle Adrian would see it that way."
"At least you're safe," Dr. Wittgenstein said. "That ought to make him
grateful."
Angela shook her head. "I'm afraid he won't be, not very. He doesn't like my
mother much, and Harold was special. A niece is not a grandson, Doctor. He'd
have gladly traded me for Harold." She shrugged. "I think he planned for
Harold to become Grand Admiral one day."
"So. What will you do now?" Lermontov asked.
"About—" She rubbed her belly. "It takes getting used to. Does John—does
Lieutenant Falkenberg know?"
"Not unless you told him," Dr. Wittgenstein said.
But I didn't know— "You mean, he won't learn unless I tell him?"
Lermontov nodded. "I was told you are intelligent."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I think I need not explain. What will Lieutenant Falkenberg do if he learns?"
She blushed again. "I suppose—I suppose he'd marry me, if I wanted him to."
"Is my prediction also," Lermontov said. "Under other circumstances would be
good thing for young man's career, marriage to Bronson family. Now—"
"Now it would be ruin for both of us," Angela said. "What—what should I do?"
"You don't have to be pregnant," Dr. Wittgenstein said.
"Damn you! I was waiting for that! Why didn't—while I was still under, while
you had me out, why didn't you just do it then, and I'd never have known? But
no, you had to wake me up and tell me—"
"You want us to make decision for you?" Lermontov said. When she didn't
answer, he turned to Wittgenstein. "Doctor, prepare operating room."
"Wait—no, wait—" She felt tears welling up in her eves. "What is it?"
"What is what— Oh," Wittgenstein said. "A girl."
"Commander—I want to see John Falkenberg."
"I cannot prevent," Lermontov said. "But I ask you do not. Not until you have

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decided what you will do. He is not stupid—"
"Do you know him?" she asked. "That's a strange thing to ask, isn't it? Do you
know the—father of my unborn daughter? We had three weeks. A lifetime. I think
I know him, but do I? I—oh, damn."
Lermontov's expression softened. "He is—was—considered promising young
officer. Well regarded." He shrugged. "Pity no one sees Midshipman Kewney die.
Now I do not know what we can do for Falkenberg."
"And I can't help—I can only make it worse," she said. "Oh, damn—what should I
do?"
"Get rid of it," Lermontov said. "Then, in year, two years, when Senator has
forgotten, you will meet again—"
"He'll never forget. And we'll never meet again."
Lermontov was going to speak but she cut him off. "You can't be sure, and I
can't be sure," she said. "The only thing that is sure is that—we can kill my
daughter."
"Fetus," Wittgenstein said. "Not—"
"I've studied embryology," Angela said. "You don't need to tell me the
details." She was silent for a long time. Then she brushed the tears from her
eyes and looked directly at Lermontov. "Commander, can you get me passage to
Churchill?"
"Yes, but why Churchill?"
"I have relatives there. My branch of the family didn't get the big money, but
we're not broke, you know. I'll get by—"
"If you do this, I cannot permit you to see Falkenberg again."
"You couldn't stop me if I demanded it, and you know it," she said. "But—maybe
it's better this way. Tell him—" The words caught in her throat, and she felt
the tears welling up again. "Tell him I thank him for saving my life, and I
wish him well."
* * *
The young man marched stiffly into the compartment and saluted. "Lieutenant
Falkenberg reporting to Commander Lermontov as ordered, sir."
The thin man behind the desk returned the salute. "Thank you. Have a seat."
"Sir?"
"I said, Sit Down."
"Aye, aye, sir." Falkenberg sat stiffly.
"You believe I am calling you in for punishment?"
Falkenberg fingered the dispatch case under his left arm. "I have orders—"
"I know," Lermontov interrupted. "Not orders I wished to issue, but there is
nothing to be done."
"So I'm leaving the Fleet."
"No. Only Navy," Lermontov said. "Unless you prefer to leave Fleet entirely."
The older man leaned forward and examined Falkenberg minutely. "I could not
blame you if you did, but I hope you will not. I have arranged to transfer you
to Marines. As lieutenant with seniority and brevet captain. Also, I have sent
message to Senator Grant recommending that he obtain Grand Senate confirmation
of Order of Merit, First Class, for you. I expect that will ensure permanent
promotion to Marine captain." Lermontov sighed. "If we had better
communications, if I could speak to Grant directly, perhaps none of this will
be necessary. Perhaps. I do not gauge well the politics of Grand Senate."
Falkenberg glanced at his dispatch case. "Clearly I don't either. Sir."
"This is obvious," Lermontov said. "Yet you did right. Losing one squad of
landing party to save others is difficult, but we are all satisfied there was
nothing else to be done." He shrugged. "Is unfortunate that squad you lose is
commanded by Bronson grandson, but you cannot know this."
"He was a good troop," Falkenberg said. "And actually I did know his
connection to—"
Lermontov held up a hand, cutting him off. He glanced involuntarily around the
room, then eyed Falkenberg narrowly. "You will never admit that to anyone
else," he said. "That your actions cause this young man to be killed is
regrettable but justified, and perhaps Bronson will forget. But if Grand

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Senator Bronson is reminded that you knew of his interest in Midshipman
Kewney, it will be much more serious. He will never forget that. I suggest you
avoid Senator in future."
"Yes, sir. Only—"
"Yes?"
"Sir, I have asked about Miss Niles, and no one seems to know where she is."
"She requested that she be sent to Churchill, where she has money and
relatives. She left two days ago on message boat to rendezvous with ship bound
for Churchill."
"Oh—I'd have thought—Did she have a message for me?"
"She says she is very grateful that you have saved her life."
"I see." He was silent for a moment. "Sir, what is my assignment?"
Lermontov smiled thinly. "You have several choices. As usual there is no end
of trouble which must be attended to."
III
Crofton's Encyclopedia of Contemporary History
and Social Issues (1st Edition)
THE EXODUS
THE era of exploration following the development of the Alderson Drive was
predictably followed by a wave of colonization. The initial colonists tended
to be both wealthy and discontented with Earth's civilization. Many were
motivated by religion: both the more traditional religions, and the secular
religion that grew out of what was known in the Twentieth Century as "The
Ecology Movement, or "The Greens."
Many of the early colonists were quite sophisticated, and had good reason to
expect success in establishing their cultures on new planets. Unfortunately,
they did not reckon with the intense pressures on the governments of Earth .
. .
* * *
2064 AD.
The bright future she sang of was already stiffened in blood, but Kathryn
Malcolm didn't know that, any more than she knew that the sun was orange-red
and too bright, or that the gravity was too low.
She had lived all of her sixteen standard years on Arrarat, and although her
grandfather often spoke of Earth, humanity's birthplace was no home to her.
Earth was a place of machines and concrete roads and automobiles and great
cities, a place where people crowded together far from the land. When she
thought of Earth at all, it seemed an ugly place, hardly fit for people to
live on.
Mostly she wondered how Earth would smell. With all those people huddled
together—certainly it must be different from Arrarat. She inhaled deeply,
filling her lungs with the pleasing smell of newly turned soil. The land here
was good. It felt right beneath her feet. Dark and crumbly, moist enough to
take hold of the seeds and nurture them, but not wet and full of clods: good
land, perfect land for the late-season crop she was planting.
She walked steadily behind the plow, using a long whip to guide the oxen. She
flicked the whip near the leaders, but never close enough to touch them. There
was no need for that. Horace and Star knew what she wanted. The whip guided
them and assured them that she was watching, but they knew the spiral path as
well as she did. The plow turned the soil inward so that the center of the
field would be higher than the edges. That helped to drain the field and made
it easier to harvest two crops each year.
The early harvest was already gathered into the stone barn. Wheat and corn,
genetically adapted for Arrarat; and in another part of the barn were
Arrarat's native breadfruit melons, full of sugar and ready to begin
fermentation. It had been a good year, with more than enough for the family to
eat. There would be a surplus to sell in town, and Kathryn's mother had
promised to buy a bolt of printed cloth for a new dress that Kathryn could
wear for Emil.
At the moment, though, she wore coveralls and high boots, and she was glad

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enough that Emil couldn't see her. He should know that she could plow as
straight a furrow as any man, and that she could ride as well as her
brother—but knowing it and seeing her here on the fields were two different
things entirely, and she was glad that he couldn't see her just now. She
laughed at herself when she thought this, but that didn't stop the thoughts.
She twitched the whip to move the oxen slightly outward, then frowned
imperceptibly. The second pair in the string had never pulled a wagon across
the plains, and Kathryn thought that she could no longer put off their
training. Emil would not want to live with Kathryn's grandfather. A man wanted
land of his own, even though there were more than a thousand hectares in the
Malcolm station.
The land here was taken. If she and Emil were to have land of their own, they
would have to move westward, toward the other sea, where the satellite
pictures showed good land. We could go, she thought; go so far that the
convicts will never find us, and the city will be a place to see once in a
lifetime. It would be exciting, although she would hate to leave this valley.
The field she plowed lay among low hills. A small stream meandered along one
edge. Most of the crops and trees that she could see had come from Earth as
seeds, and they had few predators. Most crop-eaters left Earth plants alone,
especially if the fields were bordered with spearmints and marigolds to give
off odors that even Earth insects detested.
She thought of what she would need if they struck west to found a new
settlement. Seeds they would have; and a mare and stallion, and two pairs of
oxen; chickens and swine; her grandfather was rich by local standards. There
would be her father's blacksmithing tools, which Emil could learn to use.
They would need a television. Those were rare. A television, and solar cells,
and a generator for the windmill; such manufactured goods had to be bought in
the city, and that took money. The second crop would be needed this year, and
a large one next spring, as well—and they would have to keep all the money
they earned. She thrust that thought away, but her hand strayed toward the big
sheath knife she wore on her belt.
We will manage, she thought. We will find the money. Children should not go
without education. Television was not for entertainment. The programs relayed
by the satellites gave weather reports and taught farming, ecology,
engineering, metalwork—all the skills needed to live on Arrarat. They also
taught reading and mathematics. Most of Kathryn's neighbors despised
television and wouldn't have it in their houses, but their children had to
learn from others who watched the screen.
And yet, Kathryn thought, there is cause for concern. First it is television.
Then light industry. Soon there is more. Mines are opened. Larger factories
are built, and around them grow cities. She thought of Arrarat covered with
cities and concrete, the animals replaced by tractors and automobiles, the
small villages grown into cities; people packed together the way they were in
Harmony and Garrison; streams dammed and lakes dirty with sewage; and she
shuddered. Not in my time, or my grandchildren's. And perhaps we will be
smarter than they were on Earth, and it will never happen here. We know better
now. We know how to live with the land.
Her grandfather had been a volunteer colonist, an engineer with enough money
to bring tools and equipment to Arrarat, and he was trying to show others how
to live with technology. He had a windmill for electricity. It furnished power
for the television and the radio. He had radio communications with Denisburg,
forty kilometers away, and although the neighbors said they despised all
technology, they were not too proud to ask Amos Malcolm to send messages for
them.
The Malcolm farm had running water and an efficient system for converting
sewage to fertilizer. To Amos, technology was something to be used so long as
it did not use you, and he tried to teach his neighbors that.
The phone buzzed to interrupt her thoughts, and Kathryn halted the team. The
phone was in the center of the plowed land, where it was plugged into a
portable solar reflector that kept its batteries charged. There were very few

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radio-phones in the valley. They cost a great deal and could only be bought in
Harmony. Even her grandfather Amos couldn't manufacture the phone's
microcircuits, although he often muttered about buying the proper tools and
making something that would be as good. "After all," he was fond of saying,
"we do not need the very latest. Only something that will do."
Before she reached the phone, she heard the gunshots. They sounded far away,
but they came from the direction of her home. She looked toward the hill that
hid the ranch from her, and a red trail streaked skyward. It exploded in a
cloud of bright smoke. Amos had sent up a distress rocket. "God, no!" Kathryn
screamed. She ran for the phone, but she dropped it in her haste. She
scrabbled it up from the freshly plowed dirt and shouted into it. "Yes!"
"Go straight to the village, child," her grandfather's voice told her. He
sounded very old and tired. "Do not come home. Go quickly."
"Grandfather—"
"Do as I say! The neighbors will come, and you cannot help."
"But—"
"Kathryn." He spoke urgently, but there were centuries in the voice. "They are
here. Many of them."
"Who?" she demanded.
"Convicts. They claim to be sheriffs, executing a writ for collection of
taxes. I will not pay. My house is strong, Kathryn, and the neighbors will
come. The convicts will not get in, and if they kill me now it is no great
matter—"
"And mother!" Kathryn shouted.
"They will not take her alive," Amos Malcolm said. "We have talked of this,
and you know what I will do. Please. Do not make my whole life meaningless by
letting them get you as well. Go to the village, and God go with you. I must
fight now."
There were more sounds of firing in the distance. The phone was silent. Then
there were rifle shots, plus the harsh stammer of a machine gun. Amos had good
defenses for his stone ranch house.
Kathryn heard grenades, sharp explosions, but not loud, and she prayed that
she would not hear the final explosion that meant Amos had set off the
dynamite under his house. He had often sworn that before he would let anyone
take his home, he would blow it and them to hell.
Kathryn ran back to unhitch the oxen. They would be safe enough. The sounds of
firing would keep them from going home until the next day, and here on the
plains there were no animals large enough to be a threat to healthy oxen. None
except men.
She left the team standing beside the plow, their eyes puzzled because the sun
was high and the field was not yet plowed, and she ran to the shade trees by
the creek. A horse and dog waited patiently there. The dog jumped up
playfully, but he sank onto the ground and cringed as he sensed her mood.
Kathryn hurled the saddle onto the horse and fumbled with the leather straps.
Her hands were moving so quickly that even familiar motions were difficult,
and she was clumsy in her haste. She tied the phone and solar reflector in
place behind the saddle and mounted. There was a rifle in the saddle scabbard,
and she took it out and fingered it longingly.
Then she hesitated. The guns were still firing. She still heard her
grandfather's machine gun and more grenades, and that meant that Amos was
alive. I should help, she thought. I should go.
Emil will be there. He was to plow the field next to our boundary, and he will
have heard. He will be there. She turned the horse toward the ranch.
One rider can do no good, she realized. But though she knew that, she knew she
must go to her home before it was too late. They would have a good chance,
Emil and her grandfather. The house was strong, made of good stone, low to the
ground, much of it buried in the earth, sod roof above waterproof plastic. It
would withstand raiders. It had before, many times, but there were very many
rifles firing now and she could not remember that large a raid before. Not
here, and not anywhere.

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The phone buzzed again. "Yes!" she shouted. "What is happening?"
"Ride, girl! Ride! Do not disobey my last command. You are all I have—" The
voice broke off before Amos said more, and Kathryn held the silent phone and
stared at it.
"All I have," Amos had said. Her mother and her brother were dead, then.
She screamed words of hatred and rode toward the sound of the guns. As she
crossed over the creek she heard mortars firing, then louder explosions.
* * *
Two hundred riders converged on the Malcolm ranch. They rode hard, their
horses drenched in sweat, and they came by families, some with their women,
all with their oldest boys. Brown dogs ran ahead of them. Their panting
tongues hung out between bared fangs as the dogs sensed the anger their
masters projected. As the families of riders saw each other, they waved and
kicked their horses into an even faster pace.
The riders approached the final rise before the Malcolm ranch and slowed to a
trot. There were no sounds from over the hill. Shouted commands sent the dogs
ahead. When the loping brown forms went over the hill without halting, the
riders kicked their horses back to the gallop and rode on.
"He didn't use the dynamite," George Woodrow said. "I heard explosions, but
not Amos's magazines." His neighbors didn't answer. They rode down the hill
toward the ranch house.
There was the smell of explosives in the air, mixed with the bright copper
smell of fresh blood. The dogs loped among dead men who lay around the stone
house. The big front door stood open, and more dead lay in front of that. A
girl in bloodstained coveralls and muddy boots sat in the dirt by the open
door. She cradled a boy's head in her arms. She rocked gently, not aware of
the motion, and her eyes were dry and bright.
"My God!" George Woodrow shouted. He dismounted and knelt beside her. His hand
reached out toward the boy, but he couldn't touch him. "Kathryn—"
"They're all dead," Kathryn said. "Grandfather, mother, my brother, and Emil.
They're all dead." She spoke calmly, telling George Woodrow of his son's death
as she might tell him that there would be a dance at the church next Saturday.
George looked at his dead son and the girl who would have borne his
grandchildren. Then he stood and leaned his face against his saddle. He
remained that way for a long time. Gradually he became aware that others were
talking.
"—caught them all outside except Amos," Harry Seeton said. He kept his voice
low, hoping that Kathryn and George Woodrow wouldn't hear. "I think Amos shot
Jeanine after they'd grabbed her. How in hell did anyone sneak up on old
Amos?"
"Found a dog with an arrow in him back there," Wan Loo said. "A crossbow bolt.
Perhaps that is how."
"I still don't understand it," Seeton insisted.
"Go after them!" Kathryn stood beside her dead fiancé. "Ride!"
"We will ride," Wan Loo said. "When it is time."
"Ride now!" Kathryn demanded.
"No." Harry Seeton shook his head sadly. "Do you think this was the only place
raided today? A dozen more. Most did not even fight. There are hundreds more
raiders, and they will have joined together by now. We cannot ride until there
are more of us."
"And then what?" George Woodrow asked. His voice was bitter. "By the time
there are enough of us, they will be in the hills again." He looked helplessly
at the line of high foothills just at the horizon. "God! Why?"
"Do not blaspheme." The voice was strident. Roger Dornan wore dark clothing,
and his face was lean and narrow. He looks like an undertaker, Kathryn
thought. "The ways of the Lord are not to be questioned," Dornan intoned.
"We don't need that talk, Brother Dornan," Kathryn said. "We need revenge! I
thought we had men here! George, will you ride with me to hunt your son's
murderer?"
"Put your trust in the Lord," Dornan said. "Lay this burden on His shoulders."

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"I cannot allow you to ride," Wan Loo said. "You and George would be killed,
and for what? You gain no revenge by throwing yourself at their guns." He
motioned, and two of his sons went to hold Kathryn's horse. Another took
George Woodrow's mount and led it away. "We need all our farmers," Wan Loo
said. "And what would become of George's other children? And his wife with the
unborn child? You cannot go."
"Got a live one," a rider called. Two men lifted a still figure from the
ground. They carried him over to where the others had gathered around Kathryn
and George Woodrow, then dropped him into the dirt. Wan Loo knelt and felt for
the pulse. Then he seized the raider's hair and lifted the head. Methodically
he slapped the face. His fingers left vivid red marks on the too-white flesh.
Smack, smack! Forehand, backhand, methodically, and the raider's head rocked
with each blow.
"He's about gone," Harry Seeton said.
"All the more reason he should be awakened," Wan Loo said. He ignored the
spreading bloodstains on the raider's leather jacket, and turned him face down
into the dirt. He seized an arm and twisted violently. The raider grunted.
The raider was no older than twenty. He had a short scraggly beard, not well
developed. He wore dark trousers and a leather jacket and soft leather boots
much like Kathryn's. There were marks on his fingers, discolorations where
rings had been, and his left earlobe was torn.
"They stripped their own dead and wounded," Woodrow grunted. "What all did
they get?"
"The windmill generator," Harry Seeton reported. "And all the livestock, and
some of the electronics. The phone's gone, too. Wonder why Amos didn't blow
the place?"
"Shaped charge penetrated the wall," one of the riders said. "Killed Amos at
his gun."
"Leggo. Stop." The young raider moaned. "That hurts."
"He is coming awake," Wan Loo told them. "But he will not last long."
"Pity," George Woodrow said. He bent down and slapped the boy's face. "Wake
up, damn you! I want you to feel the rope around your neck! Harry, get a
rope."
"You must not," Brother Dornan said. "Vengeance is the Lord's—"
"We'll just help the Lord out a bit," Woodrow said. "Get a rope!"
"Yeah," Seeton said. "I guess. Kathryn?"
"Get it. Give it to me. I want to put it around his neck." She looked down at
the raider. "Why?" she demanded. "Why?"
For a moment the boy's eyes met hers. "Why not?"
* * *
Three men dug graves on the knoll above the valley. Kathryn came up the hill
silently, and they did not see her at first. When they did they stopped
working, but she said nothing, and after a while they dug again. Their shovels
bit into the rich soil.
"You're digging too many graves," Kathryn said. "Fill one in."
"But—"
"My grandfather will not be buried here," Kathryn said.
The men stopped digging. They looked at the girl and her bloodstained
coveralls, then glanced out at the horizon where the rest of the commandos had
gone. There was dust out there. The riders were coming home. They wouldn't
have caught the raiders before they went into the hills.
One of the gravediggers made a silent decision. Next spring he would take his
family and find new lands. It would be better than this. But he wondered if
the convicts would not follow wherever he went. When men work the earth,
others will come to kill and steal.
"Where?" he asked finally.
"Bury Amos in his doorway," Kathryn said.
"That is a terrible thing, to bury a man in his own door. He will not rest—"
"I don't want him to rest," Kathryn said. "I want him to walk! I want him to
walk and remind us all of what Earth has done to us!"

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IV
"Hear this. All hands brace for reentry. Hear this."
"Seat straps, Lieutenant," Sergeant Cernan said.
"Right." I pulled the shoulder straps down into place and latched them, then
looked out at Arrarat.
The planet had a bleak look, not like Earth. There were few clouds, and lots
of desert. There were also heavy jungle forests near the equator. The only
cultivated lands I could see were on a narrow strip at the northern edge of a
nearly landlocked sea. South of the sea was another continent. It looked dry
and dusty, desert land where men had left no mark in passing—if anyone had
ever been there at all.
Northward and westward from the cultivated strip were hills and forests, high
desert plateaus, high mountains, and ragged canyons. There were streaks
through the forests and across the hills, narrow roads not much more than
tracks. When the troopship got lower I could see villages and towns, and every
one of them had walls or a stockade and ditch. They looked like tiny
fortresses.
The ship circled until it had lost enough speed to make a landing approach.
Then it ran eastward, and we could see the city. My briefing folio said it was
the only city on Arrarat. It stood on a high bluff above the sea, and it
seemed huddled in on itself. It looked like a medieval walled town, but it was
made of modern concrete, and adobe with plastic waterproofing, and other
materials medieval craftsmen probably wouldn't have used if they'd had them.
As the ship passed over the city at two thousand meters, it became obvious
that there were really two cities run together, with only a wall between them.
Neither was very large. The oldest part of the city, Harmony, showed little
evidence of planning: there were little narrow streets running at all angles,
and the public squares were randomly placed. The northern part, Garrison, was
smaller, but it had streets at precise right angles, and a big public plaza
stood opposite the square fort at the northern edge.
All the buildings were low, with only a couple more than two stories high. The
roofs were red tile, and the walls were whitewashed. Harmony reminded me of
towns I'd seen in Mexico. Bright sun shone off the bay below the city bluff.
Garrison was a harsher place, all right angles, neat and orderly, but
everything strictly functional. There was a square fortress at its northern
edge. My new home.
I was a very junior lieutenant of CoDominium Marines, only three months out of
the Academy and green as grass. It was Academy practice to commission the top
thirty graduates in each class. The rest went out as cadets and midshipmen for
more training. I was proud of the bars on my epaulets, but I was also a bit
scared. I'd never been with troops before, and I'd never had any friends from
the working classes, so I didn't know much about the kind of people who enlist
in the Line Marines. I knew plenty of stories, of course. Men join to get away
from their wives, or because some judge gives them a chance to enlist before
passing sentence. Others are recruited out of Bureau of Relocation ships. Most
come from Citizen classes, and my family's always been taxpayer.
It was just as well for me that my father was a taxpayer. I grew up in the
American Southwest, where things haven't changed so much since the CoDominium.
We still think we're free men. When my father died, Mom and I tried to run the
ranch the way he had, as if it still belonged to us. It did, on paper, but we
didn't have his contacts in the bureaucracy. We didn't understand all the
regulations and labor restrictions, and we didn't know who to bribe when we
broke the rules. When we got in real trouble, I tried to keep the government
people from taking possession, and that wasn't too good an idea. The judge was
an old friend of my father's and offered to get me into the Academy. U.S.
courts don't have jurisdiction over CoDominium officers.
I didn't have a lot of choices, and CD Fleet service looked pretty good just
then. I'd not only get out of trouble; I'd leave Earth. Mom was getting
married again, so she'd be all right. The government had the ranch and we'd

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never get it back. I was young enough to think soldiering was a romantic idea,
and Judge Hamilton made it pretty clear I was going to have to do something.
"Look, Hal," he told me, "your dad should have left. There's no place for
people like us. They want people who want security, who'll obey the
rules—people who like the welfare state, not ornery cusses like you and your
father. Even if I can get you off this time, you'll get in trouble again.
You're going to have to leave, and you'll be better off as a CD officer than
as a colonist."
He was right. I wondered why he stayed. Same reason my father did, I supposed.
Getting older, used to his home, not ready to go make a new start somewhere
else. I hadn't said anything, but he must have guessed what I was thinking.
"I can still do some good here. I'm a judge for life—they can't take that away
from me without damned good reasons—and I can still help kids like you.
There's nothing here for you, Hal. The future's out there. New worlds, new
ones found every year. Serve out a hitch in the Fleet service. See what's out
there, and decide where you want your kids to grow up. Someplace free."
I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I let him get me into the Academy.
It had been all right there. The Fleet has its own brotherhood. I'd been a
loner most of my life, not because I wanted to be—God knows I would have liked
to have friends!—but because I didn't fit in anywhere. The Academy was
different. It's hard to say how. One thing, though, there aren't any
incompetents whining to have the world take care of them. Not that we didn't
look out for each other. If a classmate's soft on math, you help him, and if
somebody has trouble with electronics—I did—a sharper classmate sits up nights
boning up with him. But if after all that he can't cut it, he's out. There's
more to it than that, though. I can't explain the Fleet's sense of
brotherhood, but it's real enough, and it was what I'd been looking for all my
life.
I was there two and a half years, and we worked all the time, cramming
everything from weapons maintenance to basic science to civil engineering and
road construction. I finished seventh in the class and got my commission.
After a month's leave to say goodbye to my mother and my girl—only I didn't
really have a girl; I just liked to pretend I did—I was on an Olympic Lines
passenger ship headed for another star system.
And now I'm here, I thought. I looked down at the planet, trying to spot
places I'd seen on the maps in our briefing kit. I was also listening to the
troopers in the compartment. The instructors at the Academy had told us that
officers could learn a lot by listening to the men, and I hadn't had much
opportunity to listen to these. Three weeks before I'd been on the passenger
ship, and now I was at the end of nowhere on an ancient troop carrier, with a
detachment commander who'd kept us training so hard there'd been no time for
talk or anything else.
There were only a few viewports in the compartment, and those were taken by
officers and senior enlisted men. Behind me, Sergeant Cernan was describing
what he saw. A number of younger Marines, recruits mostly, were crowded around
him. The older troopers were catching naps in their seats.
"Not much outside the city walls," Cernan said. "Trees, look like scrub oaks.
And I think those others are olives. There's palms, too. Must be from Earth.
Never saw palm trees that didn't come from Earth."
"Hey, Sarge, can you see the fort?" Corporal Roff asked.
"Yeah. Looks like any CD post. You'll be right at home."
"Sure we will," Roff said. "Sure. Christ, why us?"
"Your birthday present," Cernan said. "Just be damned glad you'll be leavin'
someday. Think of them poor bastards back aft in the can."
The ship circled the harbor, then glided in on its stubby wings to settle into
the chop outside the breakwater. The waves were two meters high and more, and
the ship rolled badly. One of the new recruits was sick. His seatmate handed
him a plastic bag.
"Hey, Dietz!" Roff called. "Want some fried bacon? A little salt pork?" He
grinned. "Maybe some sow belly—"

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"Sergeant Cernan."
"Sir!"
The captain didn't say anything else. He sat forward, a dozen rows in front of
me, and I hadn't expected him to be listening, but I wasn't surprised. I'd
learned in the past three weeks that not much went on without Captain John
Christian Falkenberg finding out.
Behind me, Cernan said, very tight-lipped, "Roff, one more word out of you—"
Dietz's buddy found another bag. No one else kidded the sick recruits. Soon
the shuttle moved into the inner harbor, where there were no waves, and
everyone felt better. A lone tugboat came alongside and eased the spacecraft
toward a concrete pier. There was no other traffic in the harbor except for a
few small fishing boats.
A Navy officer came into the compartment and looked around until he found
Falkenberg. "Sir, the Governor requests that you turn your men out under arms
to assist in the prisoner formation."
Falkenberg turned toward the Navy man and raised an eyebrow. Then he nodded.
"Sergeant Major!"
"Sir!" Ogilvie shouted from the rear of the compartment.
"Personal weapons for all troops. Rifles and cartridge belts. And bayonets,
Sergeant Major. Bayonets, by all means."
"Sir." There was a bustle of activity as Sergeant Major Ogilvie and his
weapons sergeants unlocked the arms chest and began passing out rifles.
"What about our other gear?" Falkenberg asked.
"You'll have to make arrangements with the garrison," the ship's officer said.
"Right. That's all, then?"
"Yes. That's all, Major."
I grinned as the Navyman left the compartment. To the Navy there's only one
captain aboard ship, and that's the skipper. Marine captains in transit get a
very temporary and utterly meaningless "promotion" to major for the duration
of the voyage.
Falkenberg went to the forward hatchway. "Lieutenant Slater. A moment,
please."
"Sir." I went forward to join him. I hadn't really noticed the low gravity
until I stood up, but now it was obvious. It was only eighty-five-percent
Earth standard, and on the trip out, Falkenberg had insisted the Navy skipper
keep the outer rim of the old troopship at 110 percent spin gravity for as
much of the trip as possible. The Navy hadn't liked it, but they'd done it,
and Falkenberg had trained us in the high-gravity areas. Now we felt as if we
could float away with no trouble.
I didn't know much about Falkenberg. The Service List showed he'd had Navy
experience, then transferred to Fleet Marines. Now he was with a Line outfit.
Moving around like that, two transfers, should have meant he was being run
out, but then there was his rank. He also had a Military Cross, but the List
hadn't said what it was for. It did tell me he'd gone into the Academy at
fifteen and left as a midshipman.
I first saw him at Betio Transfer Station, which is an airless rock the Fleet
keeps as a repair base and supply depot. It's convenient to several important
star systems, but there's nothing there. I'd been on my way from graduation to
Crucis Sector Headquarters, with assignment to the Fleet Marines. I was proud
of that. Of the three Marine branches, Fleet is supposed to be the technical
elite. Garrison outfits are mostly for riot suppression. The Line Marines get
the dirty jobs left over. Line troops say theirs is the real elite, and they
certainly do more than their share of the actual fighting when things are
tough. I didn't know if we'd be fighting on Arrarat. I didn't even know why we
were sent here. I just knew that Falkenberg had authority to change orders for
all unassigned officers, and I'd been yanked off my comfortable berth—first
class, damn it!—to report to him at Betio. If he knew what was up, he wasn't
telling the junior officers.
Falkenberg wasn't a lot older than I was. I was a few weeks past my
twenty-first birthday, and he was maybe five years older, a captain with the

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Military Cross. He must have had something going for him—influence, possibly,
but if that was it, why was he with the Line Marines and not on staff at
headquarters? I couldn't ask him. He didn't talk very much. He wasn't
unfriendly, but he seemed cold and distant and didn't encourage anyone to get
close to him.
Falkenberg was tall, but he didn't reach my height, which is 193 centimeters
according to my ID card. We called it six-four where I grew up. Falkenberg was
maybe two inches shorter. His eyes were indeterminate in color, sometimes gray
and sometimes green, depending on the light, and they seemed very bright when
he looked at you. He had short hair the color of sand, and no moustache. Most
officers grow them after they make captain, but he hadn't.
His uniforms always fit perfectly. I thought I cut a good military figure, but
I found myself studying the way Falkenberg dressed. I also studied his
mannerisms, wondering if I could copy any of them. I wasn't sure I liked him
or that I really wanted to imitate him, but I told myself that anybody who
could make captain before he was thirty was worth at least a bit of study.
There are plenty of forty-year-old lieutenants in the service.
He didn't look big or particularly strong, but I knew better. I'm no
forty-four-kilo weakling, but he threw me easily in unarmed combat practice,
and that was in 100 percent gravity.
He was grinning when I joined him at the forward hatchway. "Ever think,
Lieutenant, that every military generation since World War One has thought
theirs would be the last to carry bayonets?" He waved toward where Ogilvie was
still passing out rifles.
"No, sir, I never did."
"Few do," Falkenberg said. "My old man was a CoDominium University professor,
and he thought I ought to learn military history. Think about it: a weapon
originally designed to convert a musket into a pike, and it's still around
when we're going to war in starships."
"Yes, sir—"
"Because it's useful, Lieutenant—as you'll find out someday." The grin faded,
and Falkenberg lowered his voice. "I didn't call you up here to discuss
military history, of course. I want the men to see us in conference. Give them
something to worry about. They know they're going ashore armed."
"Yes, sir—"
"Tell me, Harlan Slater, what do they call you?"
"Hal, sir." We had been aboard ship for twenty-one days, and this was the
first time Falkenberg had asked. It says a lot about him.
"You're senior lieutenant," Falkenberg said.
"Yes, sir." Which wasn't saying much: the other lieutenants had all been
classmates at the Academy, and I outranked them only because I'd graduated
higher in the class.
"You'll collect the other officers and stay here at the gangway while we go
through this prisoner formation. Then bring up the rear as we take the troops
up the hill to the fort. I doubt there's transport, so we'll have to march."
"Yes, sir."
"You don't understand. If you don't understand something, ask about it. Have
you noticed our troopers, Mr. Slater?"
"Frankly, Captain, I haven't had enough experience to make any kind of
judgment," I said. "We have a lot of recruits—"
"Yes. I'm not worried about them. Nor about the regulars I brought with me to
Betio. But for the rest, we've got the scrapings out of half the guardhouses
in the Sector. I doubt they'll desert during their first hours ashore, but I'm
going to make damned sure. Their gear will stay aboard this ship, and we'll
march them up in formation. By dark I'll have turned this command over to
Colonel Harrington and it will be his worry, but until then I'm responsible,
and I'll see that every man gets to the fort."
"I see. Yes, sir." And that's why he's a captain at his age, on independent
assignment at that. Efficient. I wanted to be like that, or thought I did. I
wasn't quite sure what I really wanted. The CD Armed Services wasn't my idea,

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but now that I was in it, I wanted to do it right if I could. I had my doubts
about some of the things the CoDominium did—I was glad that I hadn't been
assigned to one of the regiments that puts down riots on Earth—but I didn't
know what ought to replace the CD and the Grand Senate, either. After all, we
did keep the peace, and that has to be worth a lot.
"They're opening the gangway," Falkenberg said. "Sergeant Major."
"Sir!"
"Column of fours in company order, please."
"Sir." Ogilvie began shouting orders. The troops marched down the gangway and
onto the concrete pier below. I went out onto the gangway to watch.
It was hot outside and within minutes I was sweating. The sun seemed
red-orange, and very bright. After the smells of the troopship, with men
confined with too little water for adequate washing, the planetary smells were
a relief. Arrarat had a peculiar odor, slightly sweet, like flowers, with an
undertone of wet vegetation. All that was mixed with the stronger smells of a
salt sea and the harbor.
There were few buildings down at sea level. The city wall stood high above the
harbor at the top of its bluff. Down on the level strip just above the sea
were piers and warehouses, but the streets were wide and there were large
spaces between buildings.
My first alien world. It didn't seem all that strange. I looked for something
exotic, like sea creatures, or strange plants, but there weren't any visible
from the gangway. I told myself all that would come later.
There was one larger structure at sea level. It was two stories high, with no
windows facing us. It had big gates in the center of the wall facing the ship,
with a guard tower at each of its corners. It looked like a prison, and I knew
that was what it had to be, but there seemed no point in that. The whole
planet was a prison.
* * *
There was a squad of local militiamen on the pier. They wore drab coveralls,
which made quite a contrast to the blue and scarlet undress of the CoDominium
Marines marching down the pier. Falkenberg talked with the locals for a
moment, and then Sergeant Major Ogilvie shouted orders, and the Marines formed
up in a double line that stretched up the dock to the aft gangway. The line
went from the gangway to the big gates in the prison building. Ogilvie shouted
more orders, and the Marines fixed bayonets.
They did it well. You'd never have known most of them were recruits. Even in
the cramped quarters of the troop carrier, Falkenberg had drilled them into a
smart-looking unit. The cost had been high. There were twenty-eight suicides
among the recruits, and another hundred had been washed out and sent back
among the convicts. They told us at the Academy that the only way to make a
good Marine is to work him in training until he can have some pride in
surviving it, and God knows Falkenberg must have believed that. It had seemed
reasonable enough back in the lecture theater at Luna Base.
One morning we had four suicides, and one had been an old Line regular, not a
recruit at all. I'd been duty officer when the troops found the body. It had
been cut down from where he'd hanged himself to a light fixture, and the rope
was missing. I tried to find the rope and even paraded all the men in that
compartment, but nobody was saying anything.
Later Sergeant Major Ogilvie came to me in confidence. "You'll never find the
rope, Lieutenant," he said. "It's cut up in a dozen pieces by now. That man
had won the military medal. The rope he hanged himself with? That's lucky,
sir. They'll keep the pieces."
All of which convinced me I had a lot to learn about Line Marines.
The forward companionway opened, and the convicts came out. Officially they
were all convicts, or families of transportees who had voluntarily accompanied
a convict; but when we'd gone recruiting in the prison section of the ship, we
found a number of prisoners who'd never been convicted of anything at all.
They'd been scooped up in one of Bureau of Relocation's periodic sweeps and
put on the involuntary colonist list.

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The prisoners were ragged and unwashed. Most wore BuRelock coveralls. Some
carried pathetically small bundles, everything they owned. They milled around
in confusion in the bright sunlight until ship's petty officers screamed at
them and they shuffled down the gangway and along the pier. They tended to
huddle together, shrinking away from the bayonets of the lines of troops on
either side. Eventually they were herded through the big square gates of the
prison building. I wondered what would happen to them in there.
There were more men than women, but there were plenty of women and girls.
There were also far more children than I liked to see in that condition. I
didn't like this. I hadn't joined the CoDominium Armed Services for this kind
of duty.
"Heavy price, isn't it?" a voice said behind me. It was Deane Knowles. He'd
been a classmate at the Academy. He was a short chap, not much above the
minimum height for a commission, and had features so fine that he was almost
pretty. I had reason to know that women liked him, and Deane liked them. He
should have graduated second in the class, but he'd accumulated so many
demerits for sneaking off bounds to see his girlfriends that he was dropped
twenty-five places in class rank, which was why I outranked him and would
until one of us was promoted above the other. I figured he'd make captain
before I did.
"Heavy price for what?" I asked.
"For clean air and lower population and all the other goodies they have back
on Earth. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it."
"But what choices do we have?" I asked.
"None. Zero. Nothing else to do. Ship out the surplus and let 'em make their
own way somewhere. In the long run it's not only all to the good, it's all
there is; but the run doesn't look so long when you're watching the results.
Look out. Here comes Louis."
Louis Bonneyman, another classmate, joined us. Louis had finished a genuine
twenty-fourth in class rank. He was part French-Canadian, although he'd been
raised in the U.S. most of his life. Louis was a fanatic CD loyalist and
didn't like to hear any of us question CD policy, although, like the rest of
us in the service, it didn't really matter what the policies were. "No
politics in the Fleet" was beaten into our heads at the Academy, and later the
instructors made it clear that what that really translated to was: "The Fleet
is Our Fatherland." We could question anything the Grand Senate did—as long as
we stood by our comrades and obeyed orders.
We stood there watching as the colonists were herded into the prison building.
It took nearly an hour to get all two thousand of them inside. Finally the
gates were closed. Ogilvie gave more orders and the Marines scabbarded their
bayonets, then formed into a column of eight and marched down the road.
"Well, fellow musketeers," I said, "here we go. We're to follow up the hill,
and there's apparently no transport."
"What about my ordnance?" Deane asked.
I shrugged. "Apparently arrangements will be made. In any event, it's John
Christian Falkenberg's problem. Ours not to reason why—"
"Ours but to watch for deserters," Louis Bonneyman said. "And we'd best get at
it. Is your sidearm loaded?"
"Oh, come on, Louis," Deane said.
"Notice," Louis said. "See how Falkenberg has formed up the troops. Recall
that their baggage is still aboard. You may not like Falkenberg, Deane, but
you will admit that he is thorough."
"As it happens, Louis is right," I said. "Falkenberg did say something about
deserters. But he didn't think there'd be any."
"There you are," Louis said. "He takes no chances, that one."
"Except with us," Deane Knowles said.
"What do you mean by that?" Louis let the smile fade and lifted an eyebrow at
Deane.
"Oh, nothing," Deane said. "Not much Falkenberg could do about it, anyway. But
I don't suppose you chaps know what the local garrison commander asked for?"

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"No, of course not," Louis said.
"How did you find out?" I asked.
"Simple. When you want to know something military, talk to the sergeants."
"Well?" Louis demanded.
Deane grinned. "Come on, we'll get too far behind. Looks as if we really will
march all the way up the hill, doesn't it? Not even transport for officers.
Shameful."
"Damn your eyes, Deane!" I said.
Knowles shrugged. "Well, the Governor asked for a full regiment and a
destroyer. Instead of a regiment and a warship, he got us. Might be
interesting if he really needed a regiment, eh? Coming, fellows?"
V
"I've a head like a concertina,
And I think I'm going to die,
And I'm here in the clink for a thunderin' drink,
And blackin' the corporal's eye. . . ."

"Picturesque," Louis said. "They sing well, don't they?"
"Shut up and walk," Deane told him. "It's bloody hot."
I didn't find it so bad. It was hot. No question about that, and undress blues
were never designed for route marches on hot planets. Still, it could have
been worse. We might have turned out in body armor.
There was no problem with the troops. They marched and sang like regulars,
even if half of them were recruits and the rest were guardhouse cases. If any
of them had ideas of running, they never showed them.

"With another man's cloak underneath of my head,
And a beautiful view of the yard,
It's thirty day's fine,
With bread and no wine,
For Drunk and Resistin' the Guard!
Mad-drunk and Resistin' the Guard!"

"Curious," Louis said. "Half of them have never seen a guardhouse."
"I expect they'll find out soon enough," Deane said. "Lord love us, will you
look at that?"
He gestured at a row of cheap adobe houses along the riverbank. There wasn't
much doubt about what they sold. The girls were dressed for hot weather, and
they sat on the windowsills and waved at the troopers going by.
"I thought Arrarat was full of holy Joes," Louis Bonneyman said. "Well, we
will have no difficulty finding any troopers who run—not for the first night,
anyway."
The harbor area was just north of a wide river that fanned into a delta east
of the city. The road was just inland from the harbor, with the city a high
bluff to our right as we marched inland. It seemed a long way before we got to
the turnoff to the city gate.
There were facilities for servicing the space shuttle, and some riverboat
docks and warehouses, but it seemed to me there wasn't a lot of activity, and
I wondered why. As far as I could remember, there weren't any railroads on
Arrarat, nor many highways, and I couldn't remember seeing any airfields,
either.
After a kilometer of marching inland, we turned sharply right and followed
another road up the bluff. There was a rabbit warren of crumbling houses and
alleys along the bluff, then a clear area in front of the high city wall.
Militiamen in drab coveralls manned a guardhouse at the city gate. Other
militiamen patrolled the wall. Inside the gate was Harmony, another warren of
houses and shops not a lot different from those outside, but a little better
kept up.
The main road had clear area for thirty meters on each side, and beyond that
was chaos. Market stalls, houses, tailor shops, electronics shops, a smithy

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with hand bellows and forge, a shop that wound electric motors and another
that sold solar cells, a pottery with kick-wheel where a woman shaped cups
from clay, a silversmith, a scissors grinder—the variety was overwhelming, and
so was the contrast of modern and the kinds of things you might see in
Frontierland.
There were anachronisms everywhere, but 1 was used to them. The military
services were shot through with contrasts. Part of it was the state of
development out in the colonies—many of them had no industrial base, and some
didn't want any to begin with. If you didn't bring it with you, you wouldn't
have it. There was another reason, too. CoDominium Intelligence licensed all
scientific research and tried to suppress anything that could have military
value. The U.S.-Soviet alliance was on top and wasn't about to let any new
discoveries upset the balance. They couldn't stop everything, but they didn't
have to, so long as the Grand Senate controlled everyone's R&D budget and
could tinker with the patent laws.
We all knew it couldn't last, but we didn't want to think about that. Back on
Earth the U.S. and Soviet governments hated each other. The only thing they
hated more was the idea that someone else—like the Chinese or Japanese or
United Emirates—would get strong enough to tell them what to do. The Fleet
guards an uneasy peace built on an uneasy alliance.
The people of Harmony came in all races and colors, and I heard a dozen
languages shouted from shop to shop. Everyone either worked outside his house
or had market stalls there. When we marched past, people stopped work and
waved at us. One old man came out of a tailor shop and took off his
broad-brimmed hat. "God bless you, soldiers!" he shouted. "We love you!"
"Now, that's what we joined up for," Deane said. "Not to herd a bunch of
losers halfway across the Galaxy."
"Twenty parsecs isn't halfway across the Galaxy," I told him.
He made faces at me.
"I wonder why they're all so glad to see us?" Louis asked. "And they look
hungry. How does one become so thin in an agricultural paradise?"
"Incredible," Deane said. "Louis, you really must learn to pay attention to
important details. Such as reading the station roster of the garrison here."
"And when could I have done that?" Bonneyman demanded. "Falkenberg had us
working twelve hours a day—"
"So you use the other twelve," Deane said.
"And what, O brilliant one, didst thou learn from the station roster?" I
asked.
"That the garrison commander is over seventy, and he has one
sixty-three-year-old major on his staff, as well as a sixty-two-year-old
captain. Also, the youngest Marine officer on Arrarat is over sixty, and the
only junior officers are militia."
"Bah. A retirement post," Bonneyman said. "So why did they ask for a
regiment?"
"Don't be silly, Louis," Deane said. "Because they've run into something they
can't handle with their militia and their superannuated officers, of course."
"Meaning we'll have to," I said. Only, of course, we didn't have a regiment,
only less than a thousand Marines, three junior officers, a captain with the
Military Cross, and—well, and nothing, unless the local militia were capable
of something. "The heroes have arrived."
"Yes. Nice, isn't it?" Deane said. "I expect the women will be friendly."
"And is that all you ever think about?" Louis demanded.
"What else is there? Marching in the sun?"
A younger townman in dark clerical clothing stood at his table under the
awning of a sidewalk café. He raised a hand in a gesture of blessing. There
were more cheers from a group of children.
"Nice to be loved," Deane said.
Despite the way he said it, Deane meant that. It was nice to be loved. I
remembered my last visit to Earth. There were a lot of places where CD
officers didn't dare go without a squad of troopers. Out here the people

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wanted us. The paladins, I thought, and I laughed at myself because I could
imagine what Deane and Louis would say if I'd said that aloud, but I wondered
if they didn't think it, too.
"They don't seem to have much transport," Louis said.
"Unless you count those." Deane pointed to a watering trough where five horses
were tied. There were also two camels, and an animal that looked like a clumsy
combination of camel, moose, and mule, with big splayed feet and silly
antlers.
That had to be an alien beast, the first thing I was certain was native to
this planet. I wondered what they called it, and how it had been domesticated.
There was almost no motor transport: a few pickup trucks, and one old
ground-effects car with no top; everything else was animal transport. There
were wagons, and men on horseback, and two women dressed in coveralls and
mounted on mules.
Bonneyman shook his head. "Looks as if they stirred up a brew from the
American Wild West, medieval Paris, and threw in scenes from the Arabian
Nights."
We all laughed, but Louis wasn't far wrong.
* * *
Arrarat was discovered soon after the first private exploration ships went out
from Earth. It was an inhabitable planet, and although there are a number of
those in the regions near Earth, they aren't all that common. A survey team
was sent to find out what riches could be taken.
There weren't any. Earth crops would grow, and men could live on the planet,
but no one was going to invest money in agriculture. Shipping foodstuffs
through interstellar space is a simple way of going bankrupt unless there are
nearby markets with valuable minerals and no agriculture. This planet had no
nearby market at all.
The American Express Company owned settlement rights through discovery. AmEx
sold the planet to a combine of churches. The World Federation of Churches
named it Arrarat and advertised it as "a place of refuge for the unwanted of
Earth." They began to raise money for its development, and since this was
before the Bureau of Relocation began involuntary colonies, they had a lot of
help. Charity, tithes, government grants, all helped, and then the church
groups hit on the idea of a lottery. Prizes were free transportation to
Arrarat for winners and their families; and there were plenty of people
willing to trade Earth for a place where there was free land, plenty to eat,
hard work, no government harrassment, and no pollution. The World Federation
of Churches sold tens of millions of one-credit lottery tickets. They soon had
enough money to charter ships and sent people out.
There was plenty of room for colonists, even though the inhabitable portion of
Arrarat is comparatively small. The planet has a higher mean temperature than
Earth, and the regions near the equator are far too hot for men to live in. At
the very poles it is too cold. The southern hemisphere is nearly all water.
Even so, there is plenty of land in the north temperate zone. The delta area
where Harmony was founded was chosen as the best of the lot. It had a climate
like the Mediterranean region of Earth. Rainfall was erratic, but the colony
thrived.
The churches had very little money, but the planet didn't need heavy industry.
Animals were shipped instead of tractors, on the theory that horses and oxen
can make other horses and oxen, but tractors make only oil refineries and
smog. Industry wasn't wanted; Arrarat was to be a place where each man could
prune his own vineyard and sit in the shade of his fig tree. Some of the
Federation of Churches' governing board actively hated industrial technology,
and none loved it; and there was no need, anyway. The planet could easily
support far more than the half to three-quarters of a million people the
churches sent out as colonists.
Then the disaster struck. A survey ship found thorium and other valuable
metals in the asteroid belt of Arrarat's system. It wasn't a disaster for
everyone, of course. American Express was happy enough, and so was Kennicott

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Metals after they bought mining rights; but for the church groups it was
disaster enough. The miners came, and with them came trouble. The only
convenient place for the miners to go for recreation was Arrarat, and the
kinds of establishments asteroid miners liked weren't what the Federation of
Churches had in mind. The "Holy Joes" and the "Goddamns" shouted at each other
and petitioned the Grand Senate for help, while the madams and gamblers and
distillers set up for business.
That wasn't the worst of it. The Federation of Churches' petition to the
CoDominium Grand Senate ended up in the CD bureaucracy, and an official in
Bureau of Corrections noticed that a lot of empty ships were going from Earth
to Arrarat. They came back full of refined thorium, but they went out deadhead
. . . and BuCorrect had plenty of prisoners they didn't know what to do with.
It cost money to keep them. Why not, BuCorrect reasoned, send the prisoners to
Arrarat and turn them loose? Earth would be free of them. It was humane.
Better yet, the churches could hardly object to setting captives free. . . .
The BuCorrect official got a promotion, and Arrarat got over half a million
criminals and convicts, most of whom had never lived outside a city. They knew
nothing of farming, and they drifted to Harmony, where they tried to live as
best they could. The result was predictable. Harmony soon had the highest
crime rate in the history of man.
The situation was intolerable for Kennicott Metals. Miners wouldn't work
without planet leave, but they didn't dare go to Harmony. Their union demanded
that someone do something, and Kennicott appealed to the Grand Senate. A
regiment of CoDominium Marines was sent to Arrarat. They couldn't stay long,
but they didn't have to. They built walls around the city of Harmony, and for
good measure they built the town of Garrison adjacent to it. Then the Marines
put all the convicts outside the walls.
It wasn't intended to be a permanent solution. A CoDominium Governor was
appointed, over the objections of the World Federation of Churches. The
Colonial Bureau began preparations for sending a government team of judges and
police and technicians and industrial-development specialists so that Arrarat
could support the streams of people BuCorrect had sent. Before they arrived,
Kennicott found an even more valuable source of thorium in a system nearer to
Earth, the Arrarat mines were put into reserve, and there was no longer any
reason for the CoDominium Grand Senate to be interested in Arrarat. The Marine
garrison pulled out, leaving a cadre to help train colonial militia to defend
the walls of Harmony-Garrison.
* * *
"What are you so moody about?" Deane asked.
"Just remembering what was in the briefing they gave us. You aren't the only
one who studies up," I said.
"And what have you concluded?"
"Not a lot. I wonder how the people here like living in a prison. It's got to
be that way, convicts outside and citizens inside. Marvelous."
"Perhaps they have a city jail," Louis said. "That would be a prison within a
prison."
"Fun-ny," Deane said.
We walked along in silence, listening to the tramp of the boots ahead of us,
until we came to another wall. There were guards at that gate, too. We passed
through into the smaller city of Garrison.
"And why couldn't they have had transportation for officers?" Louis Bonneyman
said. "There are trucks here."
There weren't many, but there were more than in Harmony. Most of the vehicles
were surplus military ground-effects troop carriers. There were also more
wagons.
"March or die, Louis. March or die." Deane grinned.
Louis said something under his breath. "March or Die" was a slogan of the old
French Foreign Legion, and the Line Marines were direct descendants of the
Legion, with a lot of their traditions. Bonneyman couldn't stand the idea that
he wasn't living up to the service's standards.

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Commands rattled down the ranks of marching men. "Look like Marines, damn
you!" Ogilvie shouted.
"Falkenberg's showing off," Deane said.
"About time, too," Louis told him. "The fort is just ahead."
"Sound off!" Ogilvie ordered.

"We've left blood in the dirt of twenty-five worlds,
We've built roads on a dozen more,
And all that we have at the end of our hitch
Buys a night with a second-class whore.
The Senate decrees, the Grand Admiral calls,
The orders come down from on high.
It's 'On Full Kits' and 'Sound Board Ships,'
We're sending you where you can die."

Another Legion tradition, I thought. Over every orderly room door in Line
regiments is a brass plaque. It says: YOU ARE LINE MARINES IN ORDER TO DIE,
AND THE FLEET WILL SEND YOU WHERE YOU CAN DIE. An inheritance from La Légion
Etrangère. The first time I saw it, I thought it was dashing and romantic, but
now I wondered if they meant it.
The troops marched in the slow cadence of the Line Marines. It wasn't a fast
pace, but we could keep it up long after quick-marching troops keeled over
from exhaustion.

"The lands that we take, the Senate gives back,
Rather more often than not,
But the more that are killed, the less share the loot,
And we won't be back to this spot.
We'll break the hearts of your women and girls,
We may break your arse, as well,
Then the Line Marines with their banners unfurled
Will follow those banners to hell.
We know the devil, his pomps, and his works,
Ah, yes! We know them well!
When you've served out your hitch in the Line Marines,
You can bugger the Senate of Hell!"

"An opportunity we may all have," Deane said. "Rather sooner than I'd like.
What do they want with us here?"
"I expect we'll find out soon enough," I said.

"Then we'll drink with our comrades and throw down our packs,
We'll rest ten years on the flat of our backs,
Then it's 'On Full Kits' and out of your racks,
You must build a new road through Hell!
The Fleet is our country, we sleep with a rifle,
No man ever begot a son on his rifle,
They pay us in gin and curse when we sin,
There's not one that can stand us unless we're downwind,
We're shot when we lose and turned out when we win,
But we bury our comrades wherever they fall,
And there's none that can face us, though we've nothing at all."

VI
Officers' Row stretched along the east side of the parade ground. The fort was
nothing special. It hadn't been built to withstand modern weapons, and it
looked a bit like something out of Beau Geste, which was reasonable, since it
was built of local materials by officers with no better engineering education
than mine. It's simple enough to lay out a rectangular walled fort, and if
that's enough for the job, why make it more complicated?

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The officers' quarters seemed empty. The fort had been built to house a
regimental combat team with plenty of support groups, and now there were fewer
than a dozen Marine officers on the planet. Most of them lived in family
quarters, and the militia officers generally lived in homes in the city. It
left the rest of us with lots of room to rattle around in. Falkenberg drew a
suite meant for the regimental adjutant, and I got a major's rooms myself.
After a work party brought our personal gear up from the landing boat, I got
busy and unpacked, but when I finished, the place still looked empty. A
lieutenant's travel allowance isn't very large, and the rooms were too big. I
stowed my gear and wondered what to do next. It seemed a depressing way to
spend my first night on an alien world. Of course, I'd been to the Moon, and
Mars, but those are different. They aren't worlds. You can't go outside, and
you might as well be in a ship. I wondered if we'd be permitted off post—I was
still thinking like a cadet, not an officer on field duty—and what I could do
if we were. We'd had no instructions, and I decided I'd better wait for a
briefing.
There was a quick knock on my door, and then it opened. An old Line private
came in. He might have been my father. His uniform was tailored perfectly, but
worn in places. There were hash marks from wrist to elbow.
"Private Hartz reporting, zur." He had a thick accent, but it wasn't pure
anything; a lot of different accents blended together. "Sergeant Major sent me
to be the lieutenant's dog-robber."
And what the hell do I do with him? I wondered. It wouldn't do to be
indecisive. I couldn't remember if he'd been part of the detachment in the
ship, or if he was one of the garrison. Falkenberg would never be in that
situation. He'd know. The trooper was standing at attention in the doorway.
"At ease, Hartz," I said. "What ought I to know about this place?"
"I don't know, zur."
Which meant he was a newcomer, or he wasn't spilling anything to officers, and
I wasn't about to guess which. "Do you want a drink?"
"Thank you, yes, zur."
I found a bottle and put it out on the dressing stand. "Always leave two for
me. Otherwise, help yourself," I told him.
He went to the latrine for glasses. I hadn't known there were any there, but
then I wasn't all that familiar with senior officers' quarters. Maybe Hartz
was, so I'd gained no information about him. He poured a shot for himself. "Is
the lieutenant drinking?"
"Sure, I'll have one." I took the glass from him. "Cheers."
"Prosit." He poured the whiskey down in one gulp. "I see the lieutenant has
unpacked. I will straighten up now. By your leave, zur."
He wandered around the room, moving my spare boots two inches to the left,
switching my combat armor from one side of the closet to the other, taking out
my dress uniform and staring at it inch by inch.
I didn't need an orderly, but I couldn't just turn him out. I was supposed to
get to know him, since he'd be with me on field duty. If any, I thought. To
hell with it. "I'm going down to the officers' mess," I told him. "Help
yourself to the bottle, but leave me two shots for tonight."
"Zur."
I felt like an idiot, chased out of my own quarters by my own batman, but I
couldn't see what else to do. He was clearly not going to be satisfied until
he'd gone over every piece of gear I had. Probably trying to impress me with
how thorough he was. They pay dog-robbers extra, and it's always good duty for
a drinking man. I was pretty sure I could trust him. I'd never crossed Ogilvie
that I knew of. It takes a particularly stupid officer to get on the wrong
side of the sergeant major.
It wasn't hard to find the officers' club. Like everything else, it had been
built for a regiment, and it was a big building. I got a surprise inside. I
was met by a Marine corporal I recognized as one of the detachment we'd
brought with us. I started to go into the bar, where I saw a number of militia
officers, and the corporal stopped me.

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"Excuse me, sir. Marine club is that way." He pointed down the hall.
"I think I'd rather drink with the militiamen, Corporal."
"Yes, sir. Sergeant Major told me to be sure to tell all officers, sir."
"I see." I didn't see, but I wasn't going to get into an argument with a
corporal, and there wasn't any point in being bullheaded. I went down the hall
to the Marine club. Deane Knowles was already there. He was alone except for a
waiter—another trooper from our detachment. In the militia bar the waiters
were civilians.
"Welcome to the gay and merry life," Deane said. "Will you have whiskey? Or
there's a peach brandy that's endurable. For God's sake, sit down and talk to
me!"
"I take it you were intercepted by Corporal Hansner," I said.
"Quite efficiently. Now I know it is Fleet practice to carry the military
caste system to extremes, but this seems a bit much, even so. There are, what,
a dozen Marine officers here, even including our august selves. So we
immediately form our own club."
I shrugged. "Maybe it's the militiamen who don't care for us?"
"Nonsense. Even if they hated our guts, they'd want news from Earth.
Meanwhile, we find out nothing about the situation here. What's yours?"
"I'll try your brandy," I told the waiter. "And who's the bartender when
you're not on duty?"
"Don't know, sir. Sergeant Major sent me over—"
"Yes, of course." I waited for the trooper to leave. "And Sergeant Major takes
care of us, he does, indeed. I have a truly formidable orderly—"
Deane was laughing. "One of the ancients? Yes. I thought so. As is mine.
Monitor Armand Kubiak, at my service, sir."
"I only drew a private," I said.
"Well, at least Ogilvie has some sense of propriety," Deane said. "Cheers."
"Cheers. That's quite good, actually." I put the glass down and started to say
something else, but Deane wasn't listening to me. He was staring at the door,
and after a moment I turned to follow his gaze. "You know, I think that's the
prettiest girl I ever saw."
"Certainly a contender," Deane said. "She's coming to our table."
"Obviously." We got to our feet.
She was definitely worth looking at. She wasn't very tall. Her head came about
to my chin, so that with the slight heels on her sandals she was just taller
than Deane. She wore a linen dress, blue to match her eyes, and it looked as
if she'd never been out in the sun at all. The dress was crisp and looked
cool. Few of the women we'd seen on the march in had worn skirts, and those
had been long, drab cotton things. Her hair was curled into wisps around her
shoulders. She had a big golden seal ring on her right hand.
She walked in as if she owned the place. She was obviously used to getting her
own way.
"I hope you're looking for us," Deane said.
"As a matter of fact, I am." She had a very nice smile. An expensive smile, I
decided.
"Well, you've excellent taste, anyway," Deane said.
I don't know how he gets away with it. I think it's telepathy. There's no
particular cleverness to what he says to girls. I know, because I made a study
of his technique when we were in the Academy. I thought I could learn it the
way I was learning tactics, but it didn't work. What Deane says doesn't
matter, and how he says it doesn't seem important. He'll chatter along, saving
nothing, even being offensive, and the next thing you know the girl's leaving
with him. If she has to ditch a date, that can happen, too.
I was damned if it was going to happen this time, but I had a sinking feeling,
because I'd been determined before and it hadn't done me any good. I couldn't
think of one thing to say to her.
"I'm Deane Knowles. And this is Lieutenant Slater," Deane said.
You rotten swine, I thought. I tried to smile as she offered her hand.
"And I'm Irina Swale."

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"Surely you're the Governor's daughter, then," Deane said.
"That's right. May I sit down?"
"Please do." Deane held her chair before I could get to it. It made me feel
awkward. We managed to get seated, and Private Donnelley came over.
"Jericho, please," Irina said.
Donnelley looked blankly at her.
"He came in with us," I said. "He doesn't know what you've ordered."
"It's a wine," she said. "I'm sure there will be several bottles. It isn't
usually chilled."
"Yes, ma'am," Donnelley said. He went over to the bar and began looking at
bottles.
"We were just wondering what to do," Deane said. "You've rescued us from
terminal ennui."
She smiled at that, but there was a shadow behind the smile. She didn't seem
offended by us, but she wasn't really very amused. I wondered what she wanted.
Donnelley brought over a bottle and a wineglass. "Is this it, ma'am?"
"Yes. Thank you."
He put the glass on the table and poured. "If you'll excuse me a moment,
Lieutenant Knowles?"
"Sure, Donnelley. Don't leave us alone too long, or we'll raid your bar."
"Yes, sir." Donnelley went out into the hall.
"Cheers," Deane said. "Tell us about the night life on Arrarat."
"It's not very pleasant," Irina said.
"Rather dull. Well, I guess we expected that—"
"It's not so much dull as horrible," Irina said. "I'm sorry. It's just that .
. . I feel guilty when I think about my own problems. They're so petty. Tell
me, when are the others coming?"
Deane and I exchanged glances. I started to say something, but Deane spoke
first. "They don't tell us very much, you know."
"Then it's true—you're the only ones coming," she said.
"Now, I didn't say that," Deane protested. "I said I didn't know—"
"You needn't lie," she said. "I'm hardly a spy. You're all they sent, aren't
you? No warship, and no regiment. Just a few hundred men and some junior
officers."
"I'd have thought you'd know more than we do," I said.
"I just don't give up hope quite as quickly as my father does."
"I don't understand any of this," I said. "The Governor sent for a regiment,
but nobody's told us what that regiment was supposed to do."
"Clean up the mess we've made of this planet," Irina said. "And I really
thought they'd do something. The CoDominium has turned Arrarat into sheer
hell, and I thought they'd have enough . . . what? Pride? Shame? Enough
elementary decency to put things right before we pull out entirely. I see I
was wrong."
"I take it things are pretty bad outside the walls," Deane said.
"Bad? They're horrible!" Irina said. "You can't even imagine what's happening
out there. Criminal gangs setting themselves up as governments. And my father
recognizes them as governments! We make treaties with them. And the colonists
are ground to pieces. Murder's the least of it. A whole planet going to
barbarism, and we don't even try to help them."
"But surely your militia can do something," Deane said.
"Not really." She shook her head, slowly, and stared into the empty wineglass.
"In the first place, the militia won't go outside the walls. I don't suppose I
blame them. They aren't soldiers. Shopkeepers, mostly. Once in a while they'll
go as far as the big river bend, or down to the nearest farmlands, but that
doesn't do any good. We tried doing something more permanent, but it didn't
work. We couldn't protect the colonists from the convict gangs. And now we
recognize convict gangsters as legal governments!"
Donnelley came back in and went to the bar. Deane signaled for refills.
"I noticed people came out to cheer us as we marched through the city," I
said.

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Irina's smile was bitter. "Yes. They think you're going to open up trade with
the interior, rescue their relatives out there. I wish you could."
Before we could say anything else, Captain Falkenberg came in. "Good
afternoon," he said. "May I join you?"
"Certainly, sir," Deane said. "This is Captain Falkenberg. Irina Swale,
Captain, the Governor's daughter."
"I see. Good afternoon. Brandy, please, Donnelley. And will the rest of you
join me? Excellent. Another round, please. Incidentally, my name is John.
First names in the mess, Deane—except for the colonel."
"Yes, sir. Excuse me. John. Miss Swale has been telling us about conditions
outside the walls. They're pretty bad."
"I gather. I've just spent the afternoon with the colonel. Perhaps we can do
something, Miss Swale."
"Irina. First names in the mess." She laughed. It was a very nice laugh. "I
wish you could do something for those people, but—well, you only have a
thousand men."
"A thousand Line Marines," Falkenberg said. "That's not quite the same thing."
And we don't even have a thousand Marines, I told myself. Lot of recruits with
us. I wondered what Falkenberg had in mind. Was he just trying to impress the
Governor's daughter? I hoped not, because the way he'd said it made me feel
proud.
"I gather you sympathize with the farmers out there," Falkenberg said.
"I'd have to, wouldn't I?" Irina said. "Even if they didn't come to me after
Hugo—my father—says he can't help them. And I've tried to do something for the
children. Do you really think—" She let her voice trail off.
Falkenberg shrugged. "Doubtless we'll try. We can put detachments out in some
of the critical areas. As you said, there's only so much a thousand men can
do, even a thousand Marines."
"And after you leave?" Irina said. Her voice was bitter. "They are pulling
out, aren't they? You've come to evacuate us."
"The Grand Senate doesn't generally discuss high policy with junior captains,"
Falkenberg said.
"No, I suppose not. But I do know you brought orders from the Colonial Office,
and Hugo took them into his office to read them—and he hasn't spoken to anyone
since. All day he's been in there. It isn't hard to guess what they say."
Irina sipped at the wine and stared moodily at the oak table. "Of course it's
necessary to understand the big picture. What's one little planet with fewer
than a million people? Arrarat is no threat to the peace, is it? But they are
people, and they deserve something better than— Sorry. I'm not always like
this."
"We'll have to think of something to cheer you up," Deane said. "Tell me about
the gay social life of Arrarat."
She gave a half smile. "Wild. One continuous whirl of grand balls and lewd
parties. Just what you'd expect on a church-settled planet."
"Dullsville," Deane said. "But now that we're here—"
"I expect we can manage something," Irina said. "I tend to be Dad's social
secretary. John, isn't it customary to welcome new troops with a formal party?
We'll have to have one in the Governor's palace."
"It's customary," Falkenberg said. "But that's generally to welcome a
regiment, not a random collection of replacements. On the other hand, since
the replacements are the only military unit here—"
"Well, we do have our militia," Irina said.
"Sorry. I meant the only Line unit. I'm certain everyone would be pleased if
you'd invite us to a formal ball. Can you arrange it for, say, five days from
now?"
"Of course," she said. She looked at him curiously. So did the rest of us. It
hadn't occurred to me that Falkenberg would be interested in something like
that. "I'll have to get started right away, though."
"If that's cutting it too close," Falkenberg said, "we—"
"No, that will be all right."

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Falkenberg glanced at his watch, then drained his glass. "One more round,
gentlemen, and I fear I have to take you away. Staff briefing. Irina, will you
need an escort?"
"No, of course not."
We chatted for a few minutes more, then Falkenberg stood. "Sorry to leave you
alone, Irina, but we do have work to do."
"Yes. I quite understand."
"And I'll appreciate it if you can get that invitation made official as soon
as possible," Falkenberg said. "Otherwise, we're likely to have conflicting
duties, but, of course, we could hardly refuse the Governor's invitation."
"Yes, I'll get started right now," she said.
"Good. Gentlemen? We've a bit of work. Administration of the new troops and
such. Dull, but necessary."

VII
The conference room had a long table large enough for a dozen officers, with
chairs at the end for twice that many more. There were briefing screens on two
walls. The others were paneled in some kind of rich wood native to Arrarat.
There were scars on the paneling where pictures and banners had hung. Now the
panels were bare, and the room looked empty and cold. The only decoration was
the CoDominium flag, American eagle and Soviet hammer and sickle. It stood
between an empty trophy case and a bare corner.
Louis Bonneyman was already there. He got up as we came in.
"There won't be many here," Falkenberg said. "You may as well take places near
the head of the table."
"Will you be regimental adjutant or a battalion commander?" Deane asked me. He
pointed to senior officers' places.
"Battalion commander, by all means," I said. "Line over staff any day. Louis,
you can be intelligence officer."
"That may not seem quite so amusing in a few minutes," Falkenberg said. "Take
your places, gentlemen." He punched a button on the table's console. "And give
some thought to what you say."
I wondered what the hell he meant by that. It hadn't escaped me that he'd
known where to find us. Donnelley must have called him. The question was, why?
"Ten-hut!"
We got up as Colonel Harrington came in. Deane had told me Harrington was over
seventy, but I hadn't really believed it. There wasn't any doubt about it now.
Harrington was short and his face had a pinched look. The little hair he had
left was white.
Sergeant Major Ogilvie came in with him. He looked enormous when he stood next
to the Colonel. He was almost as tall as Falkenberg, anyway, and a lot more
massive, a big man to begin with. Standing next to Harrington, he looked liked
a giant.
The third man was a major who couldn't have been much younger than the
Colonel.
"Be seated, gentlemen," Harrington said. "Welcome to Arrarat. I'm Harrington,
of course. This is Major Lorca, my Chief of Staff. We already know who you
are."
We muttered some kind of response while Harrington took his seat. He sat
carefully, the way you might in high gravity, only, of course, Arrarat isn't a
high-gravity planet. Old, I thought. Old and past retirement, even with
regeneration therapy and geriatric drugs.
"You're quite a problem for me," the Colonel said. "We asked for a regiment of
military police. Garrison Marines. I didn't think we'd get a full regiment,
but I certainly didn't ask for Line troops. Now what am I to do with you?"
Nobody said anything.
"I cannot integrate Line Marines into the militia," the Colonel said. "It
would be a disaster for both units. I don't even want your troops in this
city! That's all I need, to have Line troopers practicing system D in
Harmony!"

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Deane looked blankly at me, and I grinned. It was nice to know something he
didn't. System D is a Line troop tradition. The men organize themselves into
small units and go into a section of town where they all drink until they
can't hold any more. Then they tell the saloon owners they can't pay. If any
of them causes trouble, they wreck his place, with the others converging onto
the troublesome bar while more units delay the guard.
"I'm sorry, but I want your Line troopers out of this city as soon as
possible," Harrington said. "And I can't give you any officers. There's no way
I can put Marines under militia officers, and I can't spare any of the few
Fleet people I have. That's a break for you, gentlemen, because the four of
you will be the only officers in the 501st Provisional Battalion. Captain
Falkenberg will command, of course. Mr. Slater, as senior lieutenant you will
be his second, and I expect you'll have to take a company, as well. You others
will also be company commanders. Major Lorca will be able to assist with
logistics and maintenance services, but for the rest of it, you'll be on your
own."
Harrington paused to let that sink in. Deane was grinning at me, and I
answered it with one of my own. With any luck we'd do pretty well out of this
miserable place. Experience as company commanders could cut years off our time
as lieutenants.
"The next problem is, what the hell can I do with you after you're organized?"
Harrington demanded. "Major Lorca, if you'll give them the background?"
Lorca got up and went to the briefing stand. He used the console to project a
city map on the briefing screen. "As you can see, the city is strongly
defended," he said. "We have no difficulty in holding it with our militia.
However, it is the only part of Arrarat that we have ever been required to
hold, and as a result there are a number of competing gangs operating pretty
well as they please in the interior. Lately a group calling itself the River
Pack has taken a long stretch along the riverbanks and is levying such high
passage fees that they have effectively cut this city off from supply. River
traffic is the only feasible way to move agricultural goods from the farmlands
to the city."
Lorca projected another map showing the river stretching northwestward from
Harmony-Garrison. It ran through a line of hills; then upriver of that were
more farmlands. Beyond them was another mountain chain. "In addition," Lorca
said, "the raw materials for whatever industries we have on this planet come
from these mines." A light pointer indicated the distant mountains. "It leaves
us with a delicate political situation."
The Colonel growled like a dog. "Delicate. Hell, it's impossible!" he said.
"Tell 'em the rest of it, Lorca."
"Yes, Colonel. The political responsibilities on this planet have never been
carefully defined. Few jurisdictions are clear-cut. For example, the city of
Garrison is under direct military authority, and Colonel Harrington is both
civil and military commander within its walls. The city of Harmony is under
direct CoDominium rule, with Governor Swale as its head. That is clear, but
Governor Swale also holds a commission as planetary executive, which in theory
subordinates Colonel Harrington to him. In practice they work together well
enough, with the Governor taking civil authority and Colonel Harrington
exercising military authority. In effect we have integrated Garrison and
Harmony."
"And that's about all we've agreed on," Harrington said. "There's one other
thing that's bloody clear. Our orders say we're to hold Garrison at all costs.
That, in practice, means we have to defend Harmony as well, so we've an
integrated militia force. There's plenty enough strength to defend both cities
against direct attack. Supply's another matter."
"As I said, a delicate situation," Major Lorca said. "We cannot hold the city
without supply, and we cannot supply the city without keeping the river
transport lines open. In the past, Governor Swale and Colonel Harrington were
agreed that the only way to do that was to extend CoDominium rule to these
areas along the river." The light pointer moved again, indicating the area

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marked as held by the River Pack.
"They resisted us," Lorca said. "Not only the convicts, but the original
colonists as well. Our convoys were attacked. Our militiamen were shot down by
snipers. Bombs were thrown into the homes of militia officers—the hostiles
don't have many sympathizers inside the city, but it doesn't take many to
employ terror tactics. The Governor would not submit to military rule in the
city of Harmony, and the militia could not sustain the effort needed to hold
the riverbanks. On orders from the Governor, all CoDominium-controlled forces
were withdrawn to within the walls of Harmony-Garrison."
"We abandoned those people," Harrington said. "Well, they got what they
deserved. As you'd expect, there was a minor civil war out there. When it was
over, the River Pack was in control. Swale recognized them as a legal
government. Thought he could negotiate with them. Horse puckey. Go on, Lorca.
Give 'em the bottom line."
"Yes, sir. As the Colonel said, the River Pack was recognized as a legal
government, and negotiations were started. They have not been successful. The
River Pack has made unacceptable demands as a condition of opening the river
supply lines. Since it is obvious to the Governor that we cannot hold these
cities without secure supplies, the Governor directed Colonel Harrington to
reopen the supply lines by military force. The attempt was not successful."
"They beat our arses," Harrington said. His lips were tightly drawn. "I've got
plenty of explanations for it. Militia are just the wrong kind of troops for
the job. That's all burned hydrogen anyway. The fact is, they beat us, and we
had to send back to Headquarters for Marine reinforcements. I asked for a
destroyer and a regiment of military police. The warship and the Marines would
have taken the goddam riverbanks, and the MPs could hold it for us. Instead, I
got you people."
"Which seems to have turned the trick," Major Lorca said. "At 1630 hours this
afternoon, Governor Swale received word that the River Pack wishes to reopen
negotiations. Apparently they have information sources within the city—"
"In the city, hell!" Harrington said. "In the Governor's palace, if you ask
me. Some of his clerks have sold out."
"Yes, sir," Lorca said. "In any event, they have heard that reinforcements
have come, and they wish to negotiate a settlement."
"Bastards," Colonel Harrington said. "Bloody criminal butchers. You can't
imagine what those swine have done out there. And His Excellency will
certainly negotiate a settlement that leaves them in control. I guess he has
to. There's not much doubt that with the 501st as a spearhead we could retake
that area, but we can't hold it with Line Marines! Hell, Line troops aren't
any use as military government. They aren't trained for it and they won't do
it."
Falkenberg cleared his throat. Harrington glared at him for a moment. "Yes?"
"Question, sir."
"Ask it."
"What would happen if the negotiations failed so that the 501st was required
to clear the area by force? Would that produce a more desirable result?"
Harrington nodded, and the glare faded. "I like the way you think. Actually,
Captain, it wouldn't, not really. The gangs would try to fight, but when they
saw it was hopeless, they'd take their weapons and run. Melt into the bush and
wait. Then we'd be back where we were a couple of years ago, fighting a long
guerrilla war with no prospect for ending it. I had something like that in
mind, Captain, but that was when I was expecting MPs. I think we could govern
with a regiment of MPs."
"Yes, sir," Falkenberg said. "But even if we must negotiate a settlement with
the River Pack, surely we would like to be in as strong a bargaining position
as possible."
"What do you have in mind, Falkenberg?" Harrington asked. He sounded puzzled,
but there was genuine interest in his voice.
"If I may, sir." Falkenberg got up and went to the briefing screen. "At the
moment I take it we are technically in a state of war with the River Pack?"

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"It's not that formal," Major Lorca said. "But, yes, that's about the
situation."
"I noticed that there was an abandoned CD fort about 240 kilometers upriver,"
Falkenberg said. He used the screen controls to show that section of the
river. "You've said that you don't want Line Marines in the city. It seemed to
me that the old fort would make a good base for the 501st, and our presence
there would certainly help keep river traffic open."
"All right. Go on," Harrington said.
"Now we have not yet organized the 501st Battalion, but no one here knows
that. I have carefully isolated my officers and troops from the militia.
Sergeant Major, have any of the enlisted men talked with anyone on this post?"
"No, sir. Your orders were pretty clear, sir."
"And I know the officers have not," Falkenberg said. He glanced at us and we
nodded. "Therefore, I think it highly unlikely that we will run into any
serious opposition if we march immediately to our new base," Falkenberg said.
"We may be able to do some good on the way. If we move fast, we may catch some
River Pack gangsters. Whatever happens, we'll disrupt them and make it simpler
to negotiate favorable terms."
"Immediately," Harrington said. "What do you mean by immediately?"
"Tonight, sir. Why not? The troops haven't got settled in. They're prepared to
march. Our gear is all packed for travel. If Major Lorca can supply us with a
few trucks for heavy equipment, we'll have no other difficulties."
"By God," Harrington said. He looked thoughtful. "It's taking a hell of a
risk—" He looked thoughtful again. "But not so big a risk as we'd have if you
stayed around here. As you say. Right now nobody knows what we've got. Let the
troops get to talking, and it'll get all over this planet that you've brought
a random collection of recruits, guardhouse soldiers, and newlies. That
wouldn't be so obvious if you hit the road."
"You'd be pretty much on your own until we get the river traffic established
again," Major Lorca said.
"Yes, sir," Falkenberg answered. "But we'd be closer to food supply than you
are. I've got three helicopters and a couple of Skyhooks. We can bring in
military stores with those."
"By God, I like it," Harrington said. "Right now those bastards have beaten
us. I wouldn't mind paying them out." He looked at us, then shook his head.
"What do you chaps think? I can spare only the four of you. That stands. Can
you do it?"
We all nodded. I had my doubts, but I was cocky enough to think I could do
anything. "It will be a cakewalk, sir," I said. "I can't think a gang of
criminals wants to face a battalion of Line Marines."
"Honor of the corps and all that," Harrington said. "I was never with Line
troops. You haven't been with 'em long enough to know anything about them, and
here you're talking like one of them already. All right. Captain Falkenberg,
you are authorized to take your battalion to Fort Beersheba at your earliest
convenience. Tell 'em what you can give 'em, Lorca." The Colonel sounded ten
years younger. That defeat had hurt him, and he was looking forward to showing
the River Pack what regular troops could do.
Major Lorca told us about logistics and transport. There weren't enough trucks
to carry more than a bare minimum of supplies. We could tow the artillery, and
there were two tanks we could have. For most of us it would be march or die,
but it didn't look to me as if there'd be very much dying.
Finally Lorca finished. "Questions?" he said. He looked at Falkenberg.
"I'll reserve mine for the moment, sir." Falkenberg was already talking like a
battalion commander.
"Sir, why is there so little motor transport?" Louis Bonneyman asked.
"No fuel facilities," Lorca told him. "No petroleum refineries. We have a
small supply of crude oil and a couple of very primitive distillation plants,
but nowhere near enough to support any large number of motor vehicles. The
original colonists were quite happy about that. They didn't want them." Lorca
reminded me of one of the instructor officers at the Academy.

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"What weapons are we facing?" Deane Knowles asked.
Lorca shrugged. "They're better armed than you think. Good rifles. Some rocket
launchers. A few mortars. Nothing heavy, and they tend to be deficient in
communications, in electronics in general, but there are exceptions to that.
They've captured gear from our militia"—Colonel Harrington winced at
that—"and, of course, anything we sell to the farmers eventually ends up in
the hands of the gangs. If we refuse to let the farmers buy weapons, we
condemn them. If we do sell weapons, we arm more convicts. A vicious circle."
I studied the map problem. It didn't look difficult. A thousand men need just
over a metric ton of dried food every day. There was plenty of water along the
route, though, and we could probably get local forage, as well. We could do
it, even with the inadequate transport Lorca could give us. It did look like a
cakewalk.
I worried with the figures until I was satisfied, then suddenly realized it
wasn't an exercise for a class. This was real. In a few hours we'd be marching
into hostile territory. I looked over at my classmates. Deane was punching
numbers into his pocket computer and frowning at the result. Louis Bonneyman
was grinning like a thief. He caught my eye and winked. I grinned back at him,
and it made me feel better. Whatever happened, I could count on them.
Lorca went through a few more details on stores and equipment available from
the garrison, plus other logistic support available from the fort. We all took
notes, and of course the briefing was recorded. "That about sums it up," he
said.
Harrington stood, and we got up. "I expect you'll want to organize the 501st
before you'll have any meaningful questions," Harrington said. "I'll leave you
to that. You may consider this meeting your formal call on the commanding
officer, although I'll be glad to see any of you in my office if you've
anything to say to me. That's all."
"Ten-hut!" Ogilvie said. He stayed in the briefing room as Colonel Harrington
and Major Lorca left.
"Well. We've work to do," Falkenberg said. "Sergeant Major."
"Sir!"
"Please run through the organization we worked out."
"Sir!" Ogilvie used the screen controls to flash charts onto the screens. As
the Colonel had said, I was second in command of the battalion, and also A
Company commander. My company was a rifle outfit. I noticed it was heavy with
experienced Line troopers, and I had less than my share of recruits.
Deane had drawn the weapons company, which figured. Deane had taken top marks
in weapons technology at the Academy, and he was always reading up on
artillery tactics. Louis Bonneyman had another rifle company with a heavy
proportion of recruits to worry about. Falkenberg had kept a large
headquarters platoon under his personal command.
"There are reasons for this structure," Falkenberg said. "I'll explain them
later. For the moment, have any of you objections?"
"Don't know enough to object, sir," I said. I was studying the organization
chart.
"All of you will have to rely heavily on your NCOs," Falkenberg said.
"Fortunately, there are some good ones. I've given the best, Centurion
Lieberman, to A Company. Bonneyman gets Sergeant Cernan. If he works out, we
can get him a Centurion's badges. Knowles has already worked with
Gunner-Centurion Pniff. Sergeant Major Ogilvie stays with Headquarters
Platoon, of course. In addition to your command duties, each of you will have
to fill some staff slots. Bonneyman will be intelligence." Falkenberg grinned
slightly. "I told you it might not seem such a joke."
Louis answered his grin. He was already sitting in the regimental intelligence
officer's chair at the table. I wondered why Falkenberg had given that job to
Louis. Of the four of us, Louis had paid the least attention to his briefing
packet, and he didn't seem cut out for the job.
"Supply and logistics stay with Knowles, of course," Falkenberg said. "I'll
keep training myself. Now, I have a proposition for you. The Colonel has

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ordered us to occupy Fort Beersheba at the earliest feasible moment. If we
simply march there with no fighting and without accomplishing much beyond
getting there, the Governor will negotiate a peace. We will be stationed out
in the middle of nowhere, with few duties beyond patrols. Does anyone see any
problems with that?"
"Damned dull," Louis Bonneyman said.
"And not just for us. What have you to say, Sergeant Major?"
Ogilvie shook his head. "Don't like it, sir. Might be all right for the
recruits, but wouldn't recommend it for the old hands. Especially the ones you
took out of the brig. Be a lot of the bug, sir."
The bug. The Foreign Legion called it le cafard, which means the same thing.
It had been the biggest single cause of death in the Legion, and it was still
that among Line Marines. Men with nothing to do. Armed men, warriors, bored
stiff. They get obsessed with the bug until they commit suicide, or murder, or
desert, or plot mutiny. The textbook remedy for le cafard is a rifle and
plenty of chances to use it. Combat. Line troops on garrison duty lose more
men to cafard than active outfits lose in combat. So my instructors had told
us, anyway.
"It will be doubly bad in this case," Falkenberg said. "No regimental pride.
No accomplishments to brag about. No battles. I'd like to avoid that."
"How, sir?" Bonneyman asked.
Falkenberg seemed to ignore him. He adjusted the map until the section between
the city and Fort Beersheba filled the screen. "We march up the Jordan," he
said. "I suppose it was inevitable that the Federation of Churches would call
the planet's most important river 'Jordan,' wasn't it? We march northwest, and
what happens, Mr. Slater?"
I thought about it. "They run, I suppose. I can't think they'll want to fight.
We've much better equipment than they have."
"Equipment and men," Falkenberg said. "And a damned frightening reputation.
They already know we've landed, and they've asked for negotiations. They've
got sources inside the palace. You heard me arrange for a social invitation
for five days from now."
We all laughed. Falkenberg nodded. "Which means that if we march tonight,
we'll achieve real surprise. We can catch a number of them unaware and disarm
them. What I'd like to do, though, is disarm the lot of them."
I was studying the map, and I thought I saw what he meant. "They'll just about
have to retreat right past Fort Beersheba," I said. "Everything narrows down
there."
"Precisely," Falkenberg said. "If we held the fort, we could disarm everyone
coming through. Furthermore, it is our fort, and we've orders to occupy it
quickly. I remind you also that we're technically at war with the River Pack."
"Yes, but how do we get there?" I asked. "Also, Captain, if we're holding the
bottleneck, the rest of them will fight. They can't retreat."
"Not without losing their weapons," Falkenberg said. "I don't think the
Colonel would be unhappy if we really pacified that area. Nor do I think the
militia would have all that much trouble holding it if we defeated the River
Pack and disarmed their survivors."
"But as Hal asked, how do we get there?" Louis demanded.
Falkenberg said, "I mentioned helicopters. Sergeant Major has found enough
fuel to keep them flying for a while."
"Sir, I believe there was something in the briefing kit about losses from the
militia arsenal," Deane said. "Specifically including Skyhawk missiles.
Choppers wouldn't stand a chance against those."
"Not if anyone with a Skyhawk knew they were coming," Falkenberg agreed. "But
why should they expect us? The gear's at the landing dock. Nothing suspicious
about a work party going down there tonight. Nothing suspicious about getting
the choppers set up and working. I can't believe they expect us to take
Beersheba tonight, not when they've every reason to believe we'll be attending
a grand ball in five days."
"Yes, sir," Deane agreed. "But we can't put enough equipment into three

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choppers! The men who take Beersheba will be doomed. Nobody can march up that
road fast enough to relieve them."
Falkenberg's voice was conversational. He looked up at the ceiling. "I did
mention Skyhooks, didn't I? Two of them. Lifting capacity in this gravity and
atmosphere, six metric tons each. That's forty-five men with full rations and
ammunition. Gentlemen, by dawn we could have ninety combat Marines in position
at Fort Beersheba, with the rest of the 501st marching to their relief. Are
you game?"

VIII
It was cold down by the docks. A chill wind had blown in just after sundown,
and despite the previous heat of the day I was shivering. Maybe, I thought, it
isn't the cold.
The night sky was clear, with what seemed like millions of stars. I could
recognize most of the constellations, and that seemed strange. It reminded me
that although we were so far from Earth that a man who began walking in the
time of the dinosaurs wouldn't have gotten here yet, it was still an
insignificant distance to the universe. That made me feel small, and I didn't
like it.
The troops were turned out in work fatigues. Our combat clothing and armor
were still tucked away in the packs we were loading onto the Skyhook
platforms. We worked under bright lights, and anyone watching would never have
known we were anything but a work party. Falkenberg was sure that at least one
pair of night glasses was trained on us from the bluff above.
The Skyhook platforms were light aluminum affairs, just a flat plate eight
meters on a side with a meter-high railing around the perimeter. We stowed
packs onto them. We also piled on other objects: light machine guns,
recoilless cannon, mortars, and boxes of shells and grenades. Some of the
boxes had false labels on them, stenciled on by troops working inside the
warehouse, so that watchers would see what looked like office supplies and
spare clothing going aboard.
A truck came down from the fort and went into the warehouse. It seemed to be
empty, but it carried rifles for ninety men. The rifles went into bags and
were stowed on the Skyhooks.
Arrarat has only one moon, smaller than Earth's and closer. It was a bloody
crescent sinking into the highlands to the west, and it didn't give much
light. It would be gone in an hour. I wandered over to where Deane was
supervising the work on the helicopters.
"Sure you have those things put together right?" I asked him.
"Nothing to it."
"Yeah. I hope not. It's going to be hard to find those landing areas."
"You'll be all right." He wasn't really listening to me. He had two
communications specialists working on the navigation computers, and he kept
glaring at the squiggles on their scopes. "That's good," he said. "Now feed in
the test problem."
When I left to go find Falkenberg, Deane didn't notice I'd gone. Captain
Falkenberg was inside the warehouse. "We've about got the gear loaded, sir," I
told him.
"Good. Come have some coffee." One of the mess sergeants had set up the
makings for coffee in one corner of the big high-bay building. There was also
a map table, and Sergeant Major Ogilvie had a communications center set up
there. Falkenberg poured two cups of coffee and handed one to me. "Nervous?"
he asked me.
"Some."
"You can still call it off. No discredit. I'll tell the others there were
technical problems. We'll still march in the morning."
"It'll be all right, sir."
He looked at me over the lip of his coffee cup. "I expect you will be. I don't
like sending you into this, but there's no other way we can do it."
"Yes, sir," I said.

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"You'll be all right. You've got steady troopers."
"Yes, sir." I didn't know any of the men, of course. They were only names and
service records, not even that, just a statistical summary of service records,
a tape spewed out by the personnel computer. Thirty had been let out of the
brig for voluntary service in Arrarat. Another twenty were recruits. The rest
were Line Marines, long service volunteers.

Falkenberg used the controls to project a map of the area around Beersheba
onto the map table. "Expect you've got this memorized," he said.
"Pretty well, sir."
He leaned over the table and looked at the fort, then at the line of hills
north of it. "You've some margin for error, I think. I'll have to leave to you
the final decision on using the chopper in the actual assault. You can risk
one helicopter. Not both. I must have one helicopter back, even if that costs
you the mission. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." I could feel a sharp ball in my guts, and I didn't like it. I
hoped it wouldn't show.
"Getting on for time," Falkenberg said. "You'll need all the time you can get.
We could wait a day to get better prepared, but I think surprise is your best
edge."
I nodded. We'd been through all this before. Was he talking because he was
nervous, too? Or to keep me talking so I wouldn't brood?
"You may get a commendation out of this."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather have a guarantee that you'll show up
on time." I grinned when I said it, to show I didn't mean it, but I did. Why
the hell wasn't he leading this assault? The whole damned idea was his, and so
was the battle plan. It was his show, and he wasn't going. I didn't want to
think about the reasons. I had to depend on him to bail me out, and I couldn't
even let myself think the word "coward."
"Time to load up," Falkenberg said.
I nodded and drained the coffee cup. It tasted good. I wondered if that would
be the last coffee I'd ever drink. It was certain that some of us wouldn't be
coming back.
Falkenberg clapped his hand on my shoulder. "You'll give them a hell of a
shock, Hal. Let's get on with it."
"Right." But I sure wish you were coming with me.
* * *
I found Centurion Lieberman. We'd spent several hours together since
Falkenberg's briefing, and I was sure I could trust him. Lieberman was about
Falkenberg's height, built somewhere between wiry and skinny. He was about
forty-five, and there were scars on his neck. The scars ran down under his
tunic. He'd had a lot of regeneration therapy in his time.
His campaign ribbons made two neat rows on his undress blues. From his folder
I knew he was entitled to another row he didn't bother to wear.
"Load 'em up," I told him.
"Sir." He spoke in a quiet voice, but it carried through the warehouse. "First
and second platoons A Company, take positions on the Skyhook platforms."
The men piled in on top of the gear. It was crowded on the platforms. I got in
with one group, and Lieberman boarded the other platform. I'd rather have been
up in the helicopter, flying it or sitting next to the pilot, but I thought I
was needed down here. Louis Bonneyman was flying my chopper. Sergeant Doty of
Headquarters Platoon had the other.
"Bags in position," Gunner-Centurion Pniff said. "Stand ready to inflate
Number One." He walked around the platform looking critically at the lines
that led from it to the amorphous shape that lay next to it. "Looks good.
Inflate Number One."
There was a loud hiss, and a great ghostly bag formed. It began to rise until
it was above my platform. The plastic gleamed in the artificial light
streaming from inside the warehouse. The bag billowed up until it was huge
above us, and still it grew as the compressed helium poured out of the

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inflating cylinders. It looked bigger than the warehouse before Pniff was
satisfied. "Good," he said. "Belay! Stand by to inflate Number Two."
"Jeez," one of the recruits said. "We going up in this balloon? Christ, we
don't have parachutes! We can't go up in a balloon!"
Some of the others began to chatter. "Sergeant Ardwain," I said.
"Sir!"
I didn't say anything else. Ardwain cursed and crawled over to the recruits.
"No chutes means we don't have to jump," he said. "Now shut up."
Number Two Skyhook was growing huge. It looked even larger than our own,
because I could see all of it, and all I could see of the bag above us was
this bloated thing filling the sky above me. The choppers started up, and
after a moment they lifted. One rose directly above us. The other went to
hover above the other Skyhook. The chopper looked dwarfed next to that huge
bag.
The choppers settled onto the bags. Up on top the helicopter crews were
floundering around on the billowing stuff to make certain the fastenings were
set right. I could hear their reports in my helmet phones. Finally they had it
all right.
"Everything ready aboard?" Falkenberg asked me. His voice was unemotional in
the phones. I could see him standing by the warehouse doors, and I waved. "All
correct, sir," I said.
"Good. Send Number One along, Gunner."
"Sir!" Pniff said. "Ground crews stand by. Let go Number One."
The troops outside were grinning at us as they cut loose the tethers holding
the balloons. Nothing happened, of course; the idea of Skyhook is to have
almost neutral buoyancy, so that the lift from the gas bags just balances the
weight of the load. The helicopters provide all the motive power.
The chopper engines rose in pitch, and we lifted off. A gust of wind caught us
and we swayed badly as we lifted. Some of the troops cursed, and their
non-coms glared at them. Then we were above the harbor, rising to the level of
the city bluff, then higher than that. We moved northward toward the fort,
staying high above the city until we got to Garrison's north edge, then
dipping low at the fortress wall.
Anyone watching from the harbor area would think we'd just ferried a lot of
supplies up onto the bluff. They might wonder about carrying men as well, but
we could be pretty sure they wouldn't suspect we were doing anything but
ferrying them.
We dropped low over the fields north of the city and continued moving. Then we
rose again, getting higher and higher until we were at thirty-three hundred
meters.
The men looked at me nervously. They watched the city lights dwindle behind
us.
"All right," I said. It was strange how quiet it was. The choppers were
ultra-quiet, and what little noise they made was shielded by the gas bag above
us. The railings cut off most of the wind. "I want every man to get his combat
helmet on."
There was some confused rooting around as the men found their own packs and
got their helmets swapped around. We'd been cautioned not to shift weight on
the platforms, and nobody wanted to make any sudden moves.
I switched my command set to lowest power so it couldn't be intercepted more
than a kilometer away. We were over three klicks high, so I wasn't much
worried that anyone was listening. "By now you've figured that we aren't going
straight back to the fort," I said.
There were laughs from the recruits. The older hands looked bored.
"We've got a combat mission," I said. "We're going 250 klicks west of the
city. When we get there, we take a former CD fort, dig in, and wait for the
rest of the battalion to march out and bring us home."
A couple of troopers perked up at that. I heard one tell his buddy, "Sure
beats hell out of marching 250 klicks."
"You'll get to march, though," I said. "The plan is to land about eight klicks

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from the fort and march overland to take it by surprise. I doubt anyone is
expecting us."
"Christ Johnny strikes again," someone muttered. I couldn't see who had said
that.
"Sir?" a corporal asked. I recognized him: Roff, the man who'd been riding the
seasick recruit in the landing boat.
"Yes, Corporal Roff?"
"Question, sir."
"Ask it."
"How long will we be there, Lieutenant?"
"Until Captain Falkenberg comes for us," I said.
"Aye, aye, sir."
There weren't any other questions. I thought that was strange. They must want
to know more. Some of you will get killed tonight, I thought. Why don't you
want to know more about it?
They were more interested in the balloon. Now that it didn't look as if it
would fall, they wanted to look out over the edge. I had the non-coms rotate
the men so everyone got a chance.
I'd had my look over the edge, and I didn't like it. Below the level of the
railing it wasn't so bad, but looking down was horrible. Besides, there wasn't
really anything to see, except a few lights, way down below, and far behind us
a dark shape that sometimes blotted out stars: Number Two, about a klick away.
"Would the lieutenant care for coffee?" a voice asked me. "I have brought the
flask."
I looked up to see Hartz with my Thermos and a mess-hall cup. I'd seen him get
aboard with his communications gear, but I'd forgotten him after that.
"Thanks, I'll have some," I said.
It was about half brandy. I nearly choked. Hartz didn't even crack a smile.
* * *
We took a roundabout way so that we wouldn't pass over any of the river
encampments. The way led far north of the river, then angled southwest to our
landing zone. I turned to look over the edge again, and I hoped that Deane had
gotten the navigation computers tuned up properly, because there wasn't
anything to navigate by down there. Once in a while there was an orange-yellow
light, probably a farmhouse, possibly an outlaw encampment, but otherwise all
the hills looked the same.
This has got to be the dumbest stunt in military history, I told myself, but I
didn't really believe it. The Line Marines had a long reputation for going
into battle in newly formed outfits with strange officers. Even so, I doubted
if any expedition had ever had so little going for it: a newlie commander, men
who'd never served together, and a captain who'd plan the mission but wouldn't
go on it. I told myself the time to object had been back in the briefing. It
was a bit late now.
I looked at my watch. Another hour of flying time. "Sergeant Ardwain."
"Sir?"
"Get them out of those work clothes and into combat leathers and armor.
Weapons check after everyone's dressed." Dressed to kill, I thought, but I
didn't say it. It was an old joke, never funny to begin with. I wondered who
thought of it first. Possibly some trooper outside the walls of Troy.
Hartz already had my leathers out of my pack. He helped me squirm out of my
undress blues and into the synthi-leather tunic and trousers. The platform
rocked as men tried to pull on their pants without standing up. It was hard to
dress because we were sprawled out on our packs and other equipment. There was
a lot of cursing as troopers moved around to find their own packs and rifles.
"Get your goddam foot out of my eye!"
"Shut up, Traeger."
Finally everyone had his armor on and his fatigues packed away. The troopers
sat quietly now. Even the old hands weren't joking. There's something about
combat armor that makes everything seem real.
They looked dangerous in their bulky leathers and armor, and they were. The

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armor alone gave us a big edge on anything we'd meet here. It also gives a
feeling of safety, and that can be dangerous. Nemourlon will stop most
fragments and even pistol bullets, but it won't stop a high-velocity rifle
slug.
"How you doing down there?" Louis's voice in my phones startled me for a
moment.
"We're all armored up," I told him. "You still think you know where you're
going?"
"Nope. But the computer does. Got a radar check five minutes ago. Forking
stream that shows on the map. We're right on the button."
"What's our ETA?" I asked.
"About twenty minutes. Wind's nice and steady, not too strong. Piece of cake."
"Fuel supply?" I asked.
"We're hip-deep in spare cans. Not exactly a surplus, but there's enough. Quit
worrying."
"Yeah."
"You know," Louis said, "I never flew a chopper with one of those things
hanging off it."
"Now you tell me."
"Nothing to it," Louis said. "Handles a bit funny, but I got used to it."
"You'd better have."
"Just leave the driving to us. Out."
The next twenty minutes seemed like a week. I guarantee one way to stretch
time is to sit on an open platform at thirty-three hundred meters and watch
the night sky while you wait to command your first combat mission. I tried to
think of something cheerful to say, but I couldn't, and I thought it was
better just to be quiet. The more I talked, the more chance I'd show some kind
of strain in my voice.
"Your job is to look confident," Falkenberg had told me. I hoped I was doing
that.
* * *
"Okay, you can get your first look now," Louis said.
"Rojj." I got my night glasses from Hartz. They were better than issue
equipment, a pair of ten-cm Leica light-amplifying glasses I bought myself
when I left the Academy. A lot of officers do, because Leica makes a special
offer for graduating cadets. I clipped them onto my helmet and scanned the
hillside. The landing zone was the top of a peak which was the highest point
on a ridge leading from the river. I turned the glasses to full power and
examined the area carefully.
It looked deserted. There was some kind of scrubby chaparral growing all over
it, and it didn't look as if anybody had ever been to the peak.
"Looks good to me," I told Louis. "What do you have?"
"Nothing on IR, nothing on low-light TV," he said. "Nothing barring a few
small animals and some birds roosting in the trees. I like that. If there're
animals and birds, there's probably no people."
"Yeah—"
"Okay, that's passive sensors. Should I take a sweep with K-band?"
I thought about it. If there were anyone down there, and that theoretical
someone had a radar receiver, the chopper would give itself away with the
first pulse. Maybe that would be better. "Yes."
"Rojj," Louis said. He was silent a moment. "Hal, I get nothing. If there's
anybody down there, he's dug in good and expecting us."
"Let's go in," I said.
And now, I thought, I'm committed.

IX
"Over the side!" Ardwain shouted. "Get those tethers planted! First squad take
perimeter guard! Move, damn you!"
The men scrambled off the platform. Some of them had tether stakes, big
aluminum corkscrews, which they planted in the ground. Others lashed the

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platform to the stakes. The first squad, two maniples, fanned out around the
area with their rifles ready.
There wasn't much wind, but that big gas bag had a lot of surface area, and I
was worried about it. I got off and moved away to look at it. It didn't seem
to be too much strain on the tether stakes. The hillside was quiet and dark.
We'd set down on top of some low bushes with stiff branches. The leaves felt
greasy when they were crushed. I listened, then turned my surveillance
amplifier to high gain. Still nothing, not even a bird. Nothing but my own
troops moving about. I switched to general command frequency. "Freeze," I
said.
The noise stopped. There was silence except for the low "whump!" of the
chopper blades, and a fainter sound from Number Two out there somewhere.
"Carry on," I said.
Ardwain came up to me. "Nobody here, sir. Area secure."
"Thank you." I thumbed my command set onto the chopper's frequency. "You can
cut yourself loose, and bring in Number Two."
"Aye, aye, sir," Louis said.
We began pulling gear off the platform. After a few moments, Number Two
chopper came in. We couldn't see the helicopter at all, only the huge gas bag
with its platform dangling below it. The Skyhook settled onto the chaparral
and men bailed out with tether stakes. Centurion Lieberman watched until he
was sure the platform was secure, then ran over to me.
"All's well?" I asked him.
"Yes, sir." His tone made it obvious he'd wanted to say "of course."
"Get 'em saddled up," I said. "We're moving out."
"Aye, aye, sir. I still think Ardwain would be all right here, sir."
"No. I'll want an experienced man in case something happens. If we don't send
for the heavy equipment, or if something happens to me, call Falkenberg for
instructions."
"Aye, aye, sir."' He still didn't like it. He wanted to come with us. For that
matter, I wanted him along, but I had to leave a crew with the Skyhooks and
choppers. If the wind came up so tethers wouldn't hold, those things had to
get airborne fast, and the rest of us would be without packs and supplies.
There were all kinds of contingencies, and I wanted a reliable man I could
trust to deal with them.
"We're ready, sir," Ardwain said.
"Right. Let's move out." I switched channels. "Here we go, Louis."
"I'll be ready," Bonneyman said.
"Thanks. Out." I moved up toward the head of the column. Ardwain had already
gone up. "Let's get rolling," I said.
"Sir. Question, sir," Ardwain said.
"Yeah?"
"Men would rather take their packs, sir. Don't like to leave their gear
behind."
"Sergeant, we've got eight kilometers to cover in less than three hours. No
way."
"Yes, sir. Could we take our cloaks? Gets cold without 'em—"
"Sergeant Ardwain, we're leaving Centurion Lieberman and four maniples of
troops here. Just what's going to happen to your gear? Get them marching."
"Sir. All right, you bastards, move out."
I could hear grumbling as they started along the ridge. Crazy, I thought. They
want to carry packs in this.
The brush was thick, and we weren't making any progress at all. Then the
scouts found a dry stream bed, and we moved into that. It was filled with
boulders the size of a desk, and we hopped from one to another, moving
slightly downhill. It was pitch-black, the boulders no more than shapes I
could barely see. This wasn't going to work. I was already terrified.
But thank God for all that exercise in high gravity, I thought. We'll make it,
but we've got to have light. I turned my set to low-power command frequency.
"NCOs turn on lowest-power infrared illumination," I said. "No visible light."

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I pulled the IR screen down in front of my eyes and snapped on my own IR
helmet light. The boulders became pale green shapes in front of me, and I
could just see them well enough to hop from one to another. Ahead of me the
screen showed bright green moving splotches, my scouts and NCOs with their
illuminators.
I didn't think anybody would be watching this hill with IR equipment. It
didn't seem likely, and we were far from the fort where the only equipment
would be—if the River Pack had any to begin with. I told myself it would take
extremely good gear to spot us from farther than a klick.
Eight klicks to go and three hours to do it. Shouldn't be hard. Men are in
good condition, no packs—damned fools wanted to carry them!—only rifles and
ammunition. And the weapons troops, of course. They'd be slowest. Mortarmen
with twenty-two kilos each to carry, and the recoilless riflemen with
twenty-four.
We were sweating in no time. I opened all the vents in my armor and leathers
and wondered if I ought to tell the troops to do the same. Don't be stupid, I
told myself. Most of them have done this a dozen times. I can't tell them
anything they don't know.
But it's my command, I kept thinking. Anything goes wrong, it's your
responsibility, Hal Slater. You asked for it, too, when you took the
commission.
I kept thinking of the millions of things that could go wrong. The plan didn't
look nearly so good from here as it had when we were studying maps. Here we
are, seventy-six men, about to try to take a fort that probably has us
outnumbered. Falkenberg estimated 125 men in there. I'd asked him how he got
the number.
"Privies, Mr. Slater. Privies. Count the number of outhouses, guess the number
of bottoms per hole, and you've got a good estimate of the number of men." He
hadn't even cracked a grin.
One hell of a way to guess, and Falkenberg wasn't coming along. We'd find out
the hard way how accurate his estimate was.
I kept telling myself what we had going for us. The satellite photos showed
nobody lived on this ridge. No privies, I thought, and grinned in the dark.
But I'd gone over the pix, and I hadn't seen any signs that people were ever
here. Why should they be? There was no water except for the spring inside the
fort itself. There was nothing up here, not even proper firewood, only these
pesky shrubs that stab at your ankles.
I came around a bend in the stream bed and found a monitor waiting. His
maniple stood behind him. He had three recruits in it: one NCO, one long-term
private, and three recruits. The usual organization is only one or two
recruits to a maniple, and I wondered why Lieberman had set this one up this
way.
The monitor motioned uphill. We had to leave the stream bed here. Far ahead of
me I could see the dull green glow of my lead men's lanterns. They were
pulling ahead of me, and I strained to keep up with them. I left the stream,
and after a few meters the only man near me was Hartz. He struggled along with
twenty kilos of communications gear on his back and a rifle in his right hand,
but if he had any trouble keeping up with me, he didn't say anything. I was
glad I didn't have to carry all that load.
The ridge flattened out after a hundred meters. The cover was only about
waist-high. The green lights went out on my IR screen as up ahead the scouts
cut their illuminators. I ordered the others turned off, as well. Then I
crouched under a bush and used the map projector to show me where we were. The
helmet projected the map onto the ground, a dim patch of light that couldn't
have been seen except from close up and directly above.
I was surprised to see we'd come better than halfway.
* * *
Fort Beersheba hadn't been much to start with. It had a rectangle of low walls
with guard towers in the corners, a miniature of the larger fort at Garrison.
Then somebody had improved it, with a ditch and parapet out in front of the

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walls, and a concertina of rusting barbed wire outside of that. I couldn't see
inside the walls, but I knew there were four above-ground buildings and three
large bunkers. The buildings were adobe. The bunkers were logs and earth. They
wouldn't burn. The logs were a local wood with a high metallic content.
The bunkers were going to be a problem, but they'd have to wait. Right now we
had to get inside the walls of the fort. There was a gate in the wall in front
of me. It was made of the same wood as the bunkers. It had a ramp across the
ditch, and it looked like our best bet, except that inside the fort one of the
bunkers faced the gate, and it would be able to fire through the opening once
the gate was gone.
I had seventy-five men lying flat in the scrub brush three hundred meters from
the fort. The place looked deserted. My IR pickups didn't show anyone in the
guard towers or on the walls. Nothing. I glanced at my watch. Less than an
hour before dawn.
I hadn't the faintest idea of what to do, but it was time to make up my mind.
"Don't get fancy," Falkenberg had told me. "Get the men to the fort and turn
them loose. They'll take it for you."
Sure, I thought. Sure. You're not here, you bloody coward, and I am, and it's
my problem, and I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
I didn't like the looks of that ditch and barbed-wire concertina. It would
take a while getting through it. If we crawled up to the ditch, we'd be
spotted. They couldn't be that sloppy; if there weren't any guards, there had
to be a surveillance system. Body capacitance, maybe. Or radar. Something.
They'd have guards posted unless they had reason to believe nobody could sneak
up on them.
To hell with it. We've got to do something, I thought. I nodded to Hartz and
he handed me a mike. His radio was set to a narrow-beam directional antenna,
and we'd left relays along the line of sight back to the landing area. I could
talk to the choppers without alerting the fort's electronic watchdogs.
"Nighthawk, this is Blackeagle," I said.
"Blackeagle go."
"We can see the place, Louis. Nothing moving at all. I'd say it was deserted
if I didn't know better."
"Want me to come take a look?"
It was a thought. The chopper could circle high above the fort and scan with
IR and low-light TV. We'd know who was in the open. But there was a good
chance it would be spotted, and we'd throw away our best shot.
"Don't get fancy," Falkenberg had said. "Surprise—that's your big advantage.
Don't blow it."
But he wasn't here. There didn't seem to be any right decision. "No," I told
Louis. "That's a negative. Load up with troops and get airborne, but stay out
of line of sight. Be ready to dash. When I want you, I'll want you bad."
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Blackeagle out." I gave Hartz the mike. Okay, I told myself, this is it. I
waved forward to Sergeant Ardwain.
He half rose from the ground and waved. The line moved ahead, slowly. Behind
us the mortar and recoilless rifle teams had set up their weapons and lay next
to them waiting for orders.
Corporal Roff was just to my left. He was directly in front of the gate. He
waved his troops on and we crawled toward the gate.
We'd gotten to within a hundred meters when there appeared a light at the top
of the wall by the gate. Someone up there was shining a spot out onto the
field. There was another light, and then another, all hand-held spotlights,
powerful, but not very wide beams.
Corporal Roff stood up and waved at them "Hello, there!" he shouted. "Whatcha
doin'?" He sounded drunk. I wanted to tell him to get down, but it was too
late.
"You guys okay in there?" Roff shouted. "Got anything to drink?"
The others were crouched now, up from a crawl, and running forward.
"Who the hell are you?" someone on the wall demanded.

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"Who the flippin' hell are you?" Roff answered. "Gimme a drink!" The lights
converged toward him.
I thumbed on my command set. "Nighthawk, this is Blackeagle. Come a-runnin'!"
"Roger dodger."
I switched to the general channel. "Roff, hit the dirt! Fire at will. Charge!"
I was shouting into the helmet radio loud enough to deafen half the command.
Roff dove sideways into the dirt. There were orange spurts from all over the
field as the troopers opened fire. The lights tumbled off the walls. Two went
out. One stayed on. It lay in the dirt just outside the gate.
Troopers rose from the field and ran screaming toward the fort. They sounded
like madmen. Then a light machine gun opened from behind me, then another.
Trumpet notes sounded. I hadn't ordered it. I didn't even know we had a
trumpet with us. The sound seemed to spur the men on. They ran toward the wire
as the mortars fired their first rounds. Seconds later I saw spurts of fire
from inside the walls as the shells hit. Just as they did, the recoilless
opened behind me and I heard the shell pass not more than a couple of meters
to my left. It hit the gates and there was a flash, then another hit the
gates, and another. The trumpeter was sounding the charge over and over again,
while mortars dropped more V.T. fused to go off a meter above ground into the
fort itself. The recoilless fired again.
The gates couldn't take that punishment and fell open. There was smoke inside.
One of the mortarmen must have dropped smoke rounds between the gates and the
bunker. Streams of tracers came out of the gates, but the men avoided them
easily. They ran up on either side of the gates.
Others charged directly at the wire. The first troopers threw themselves onto
the concertina. The next wave stepped on their backs and dived into the ditch.
More waves followed, and men in the ditches heaved their comrades up onto the
narrow strip between the ditch and the walls.
They stopped just long enough to throw grenades over the wall. Then two men
grabbed a third and flung him up to where he could catch the top of the wall.
They stood and boosted him on until he pulled himself up and could stand on
top of it. More men followed, then leaned down to pull up their mates from
below. I couldn't believe it was happening so quickly.
The men on the wire were struggling to get loose before there was no one below
to boost them over. Those were recruits, I thought. Of course. The monitors
had sent the recruits first, with a simple job. Lie down and get walked on.
The helicopter came roaring in, pouring streams of twenty-mm cannon fire into
the fort. The tracers were bright against the night sky.
And I was still standing there, watching, amazed at how fast it was all
happening. I shook myself and turned on my command set. "I.F.F. beacons on!
General order, turn on I.F.F. beacons." I changed channels. "Nighthawk, this
is Blackeagle. For God's sake, Louis, be careful! Some of ours are already
inside!"
"I see the beacons," Louis said. "Relax, Hal, we watched them going in."
The chopper looped around the fort in a tight orbit, still firing into the
fort. Then it plunged downward.
"Mortarmen, hold up on that stuff," Sergeant Ardwain's voice said. "We're
inside the fort now and the chopper's going in."
Christ, I thought, something else I forgot. One hell of a commander I've made.
I can't even remember the most elementary things.
The chopper dropped low and even before it vanished behind the walls it was
spewing men.
I ran up to the gate, staying to one side to avoid the tracers that were still
coming out. Corporal Roff was there ahead of me. "Careful here, sir." He
ducked around the gatepost and vanished. I followed him into the smoke,
running around to my right, where other troopers had gone over the wall.
The scene inside was chaotic. There were unarmored bodies everywhere, probably
cut down by the mortars. Men were running and firing in all directions. I
didn't think any of the defenders had helmets. "Anybody without a helmet is a
hostile," I said into the command set. Stupid. They know that. "Give 'em hell,

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lads!" That was another silly thing to say, but at least it was a better
reason for shouting in their ears than telling them something they already
knew.
A satchel charge went off at one of the bunkers. A squad rushed the entrance
and threw grenades into it. That was all I could see from where I stood, but
there was firing all over the enclosure.
Now what? I wondered. Even as I did, the firing died out until there were only
a few rifle shots now and then, and the futile fire of the machine gun in the
bunker covering the gate.
"Lieutenant?" It was Ardwain's voice.
"Yes, Sergeant."
"There's some people in that main bunker, sir. You can hear 'em talking in
there. Sound like women. We didn't want to blow it in, not just yet, anyway."
"What about the rest of the fort?"
"Cleared out, sir. Bunkers and barracks, too. We got about twenty prisoners."
That quick. Like automatic magic. "Sergeant, make sure there's nothing that
can fire onto the area northwest of the fort. I want to bring the Skyhook in
there."
"Aye, aye, sir."
I thumbed my command set to the chopper frequency. "We've got the place, all
except one bunker, and it'll be no problem. Bring Number Two in to land in the
area northwest of the fort, about three hundred meters out from the wall. I
want you to stay up there and cover Number Two. Anything that might hit it,
you take care of. Keep scanning. I can't believe somebody won't come up here
to see what's happening."

X
That was my first fire fight. I wasn't too proud of my part in it. I hadn't
given a single order once the rush started, and I was very nearly the last man
into the fort. Some leader.
But there was no time to brood. Dawn was a bright smear off in the east. The
first thing was to check on the butcher's bill. Four men killed, two of them
recruits. Eleven wounded. After a quick conference with our paramedic I sent
three to the helicopters. The others could fight, or said they could. Then I
sent the two choppers east toward Harmony, while we ferried the rest of our
gear into the fort. We were on our own.
Sergeant Doc Crisp had another dozen patients, defenders who'd been wounded in
the assault. We had thirty prisoners, thirty-seven wounded, and over fifty
dead. One of the wounded was the former commander of the fort.
"Got bashed with a rifle butt outside his quarters," Ardwain told me. "He's
able to talk now."
"I'll see him."
"Sir." Ardwain went into the hospital bunker and brought out a man about
fifty, dark hair in a ring around a bald head. He had thin, watery eyes. He
didn't look like a soldier or an outlaw.
"He says his name's Flawn, sir," Ardwain told me.
"Marines," Flawn said. "CoDominium Marines. Didn't know there were any on the
planet. Just why the hell is this place worth the Grand Senate's attention
again?"
"Shut up," Ardwain said.
"I've got a problem, Flawn," I said. We were standing in the open area in the
center of the fort. "That bunker over there's still got some of your people in
it. It'd be no problem to blast it open, but the troopers think they heard
women talking in there."
"They did," Flawn said. "Our wives."
"Can you talk them into coming out, or do we set fire to it?"
"Christ!" he said. "What happens to us now?"
"Machts nichts to me," I told him. "My orders are to disarm you people. You're
free to go anywhere you want to without weapons. Northwest if you like."
"Without weapons. You know what'll happen to us out there without weapons?"

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"No, and I don't really care."
"I know," Flawn said. "You bastards never have cared—"
"Mind how you talk to the lieutenant," Ardwain said. He ground his rifle on
the man's instep. Flawn gasped in pain.
"Enough of that, Sergeant," I said. "Flawn, you outlaws—"
"Outlaws. Crap!" Flawn said. "Excuse me. Sir, you are mistaken." He eyed
Ardwain warily, his lip curled in contempt. "You brought me here as a convict
for no reason other than my opposition to the CoDominium. You turned me loose
with nothing. Nothing at all, Lieutenant. So we try to build something.
Politics here aren't like at home. Or maybe they are, same thing, really, but
here it's all out in the open. I managed something, and now you've come to
take it away and send me off unarmed, with no more than the clothes on my
back, and you expect me to be respectful." He glanced up at the CoDominium
banner that flew high above the fort. "You'll excuse me if I don't show more
enthusiasm."
"My orders are to disarm you, I said. "Now, will you talk your friends out of
that bunker, or do we blow it in?"
"You'll let us go?"
"Yes."
"Your word of honor, Lieutenant?"
I nodded. "Certainly."
"I guess I can't ask for any other guarantees." Flawn looked at Sergeant
Ardwain and grimaced. "I wish I dared. All right, let me talk to them."
* * *
By noon we had Fort Beersheba to ourselves. Flawn and the others had left.
They insisted on carrying their wounded with them, even when Doc Crisp told
them most would probably die on the road. The women had been a varied
assortment, from teenagers to older women. All had gone with Flawn, to my
relief and the troopers' disappointment.
Centurion Lieberman organized the defenses. He put men into the bunkers, set
up revetments for the mortars, found material to repair the destroyed gates,
stationed more men on the walls, got the mess tents put up, put the liquor
we'd found into a strong room and posted guards over it—
I was feeling useless again.
In another hour there were parties coming up the road. I sent Sergeant Ardwain
and a squad down there to set up a roadblock. We could cover them from the
fort, and the mortars were set up to spray the road. The river was about three
hundred meters away and one hundred meters below us, and the fort had a good
field of fire all along the road for a klick in either direction. It was easy
to see why this bluff had been chosen for a strong point.
As parties of refugees came through, Ardwain disarmed them. At first they went
through, anyway, but after a while they began to turn back rather than
surrender their weapons. None of them caused any problems, and I wouldn't let
Ardwain pursue any that turned away. We had far too few men to risk any in
something senseless like that.
* * *
"Good work," Falkenberg told me when I made the afternoon report. "We've made
forty kilometers so far, and we've got a couple of hours of daylight left.
It's a bit hard to estimate how fast we'll be able to march."
"Yes, sir. The first party we disarmed had three Skyhawk missiles. There were
five here at the fort, but nobody got them out in time to use them. Couple of
guys who tried were killed by the mortars. It doesn't look good for
helicopters in this area, though, not now that they're warned."
"Yes," Falkenberg said. "I suspected as much. We'll retire the choppers for a
while. You've done well, Slater. I caution you not to relax, though. At the
moment we've had no opposition worth mentioning, but that will change soon
enough, and after that there may be an effort to break past your position.
They don't seem to want to give up their weapons."
"No, sir." And who can blame them? I thought. Eric Flawn had worried me. He
hadn't seemed like an outlaw. I don't know what I'd expected here at

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Beersheba. Kidnapped girls. Scenes of rape and debauchery, I suppose. I'd
never seen a thieves' government in operation. Certainly I hadn't expected
what I'd found, a group of middle-aged men in control of troops who looked a
lot like ours, only theirs weren't very well equipped.
"I understand you liberated some wine," Falkenberg said.
"Yes, sir."
"That'll help. Daily ration of no more than half a liter per man, though."
"Sir? I wasn't planning on giving them any of it until you got here."
"It's theirs, Slater," Falkenberg said. "You could get away with holding on to
it, but it wouldn't be best. It's your command. Do as you think you should,
but if you want advice, give the troops half a liter each."
"Yes, sir." There's no regulation against drinking in the Line Marines, not
even on duty. There are severe penalties for rendering yourself unfit for
duty. Men have even been shot for it. "Half a liter with supper, then."
"I think it's wise," Falkenberg said. "Well, sounds as if you're doing well.
We'll be along in a few days. Out."
There were a million other details. At noon I'd been startled to hear a
trumpet sound mess call, and I went out to see who was doing it. A corporal I
didn't recognize had a polished brass trumpet.
"Take me a few days to get everyone's name straight, Corporal," I said.
"Yours?"
"Corporal Brady, sir."
"You play that well."
"Thank you, sir."
I looked at him again. I was sure his face was familiar. I thought I
remembered that he'd been on Tri-v. Had his own band and singing group.
Nightclub performances, at least one Tri-v special. I wondered what he was
doing as an enlisted man in the Line Marines, but I couldn't ask. I tried to
remember his real name, but that escaped me, too. It hadn't been Brady, I was
sure of that. "You'll be sounding all calls here?"
"Yes, sir. Centurion says I'm to do it."
"Right. Carry on, Brady."
All through the afternoon the trumpet calls sent men to other duties. An hour
before the evening meal there was a formal retreat. The CoDominium banner was
hauled down by a color guard while all the men not on sentry watch stood in
formation and Brady played Colors. As they folded the banner I remembered a
lecture in Leadership class back at the Academy.
The instructor had been a dried-up Marine major with one real and one
artificial arm. We were supposed to guess which was which, but we never did.
The lecture I remembered had been on ceremonials. "Always remember," he'd
said, "the difference between an army and a mob is tradition and discipline.
You cannot enforce discipline on troops who do not feel that they are being
justly treated. Even the man who is wrongly punished must feel that what he is
accused of deserves punishment. You cannot enforce discipline on a mob, and so
your men must be reminded that they are soldiers. Ceremonial is one of your
most powerful tools for doing that. It is true that we are perpetually accused
of wasting money. The Grand Senate annually wishes to take away our dress
uniforms, our badges and colors, and all the so-called nonfunctional items we
employ. They are fortunate, because they have never been able to do that. The
day that they do, they will find themselves with an army that cannot defend
them.
"Soldiers will complain about ceremonials and spit-and-polish, and such like,
but they cannot live as an army without them. Men fight for pride, not for
money, and no service that does not give them pride will last very long."
Maybe, I thought. But with a thousand things to do, I could have passed up a
formal retreat on our first day at Fort Beersheba. I hadn't been asked about
it. By the time I knew it was to happen, Lieberman had made all the
arrangements and given the orders.
By suppertime we were organized for the night. Ardwain had collected about a
hundred weapons, mostly obsolete rifles—there were even muzzle-loaders,

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handmade here on Arrarat—and passed nearly three hundred people through the
roadblock.
We closed the road at dusk. Searchlights played along it, and we had a series
of roadblocks made of log stacks. Ardwain and his troops were dug in where
they could cover the whole road area, and we could cover them from the fort.
It looked pretty good.
Tattoo sounded, and Fort Beersheba began to settle in for the night.
I made my rounds, looking into everything. The body-capacitance system the
previous occupants had relied on was smashed when we blew open their bunker,
but we'd brought our own surveillance gear. I didn't really trust passive
systems, but I needn't have worried. Lieberman had guards in each of the
towers. They were equipped with light-amplifying binoculars. There were more
men to watch the IR screens.
"We're safe enough," Lieberman said. "If the lieutenant would care to turn in,
I'll see the guard's changed properly."
He followed me back to my quarters. Hartz had already fixed the place up.
There were fresh adobe patches over the bullet holes in the walls. My gear was
laid out where I could get it quickly. Hartz had his cloak and pack spread out
in the anteroom.
There was even coffee. A pot was kept warm over an alcohol lamp.
"You can leave it to us," Lieberman said.
Hartz grinned. "Sure. Lieutenants come out of the Academy without any
calluses, and we make generals out of them."
"That may take some doing," I said. I invited Lieberman into my sitting room.
There was a table there, with a scale model of the fort on it. Flawn had made
it, but it hadn't done him much good. "Have a seat, Centurion. Coffee?"
"Just a little, sir. I'd best get back to my duties."
"Call me for the next watch, Centurion."
"If the lieutenant orders it."
"I just—what the hell, Lieberman, why don't you want me to take my turn on
guard?"
"No need, sir. May I make a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"Leave it to us, sir. We know what we're doing."
I nodded and stared into my coffee cup. I didn't feel I was really in command
here. They tell you everything in the Academy: leadership, communications, the
precise form of a regimental parade, laser range-finding systems, placement of
patches on uniforms, how to compute firing patterns for mortars, wine rations
for the troops, how to polish a pair of boots, servicing recoilless rifles,
delivery of calling cards to all senior officers within twenty-four hours of
reporting to a new post, assembly and maintenance of helicopters, survival on
rocks with poisonous atmosphere or no atmosphere at all, shipboard routines,
and a million other details. You have to learn them all, and they get mixed up
until you don't know what's trivial and what's important. They're just things
you have to know to pass examinations. "You know what you're doing, Centurion,
but I'm not sure I do."
"Sir, I've noticed something about young officers," Lieberman said. "They all
take things too serious."
"Command's a serious business." Damn, I thought. That's pompous. Especially
from a young kid to an older soldier.
He didn't take it that way. "Yes, sir. Too damned serious to let details get
in the way. Lieutenant, if it was just things like posting the guard and
organizing the defense of this place, the service wouldn't need officers. We
can take care of that. What we need is somebody to tell us what the hell to
do. Once that's done, we know how."
I didn't say anything. He looked at me closely, probably trying to figure out
if I was angry. He didn't seem very worried.
"Take me, for instance," he said. "I don't know why the hell we came to this
place, and I don't care. Everybody's got his reasons for joining up. Me, I
don't know what else to do. I've found something I'm good at, and I can do it.

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Officers tell me where to fight, and that's one less damn thing to worry
about."
The trumpet sounded outside. Last Post. It was the second time we'd heard it
today. The first was when we'd buried our dead.
"Got my rounds to make," Lieberman said. "By your leave, sir."
"Carry on, Centurion." A few minutes later Hartz came in to help me get my
boots off. He wouldn't hear of letting me turn in wearing them.
"We'll hold 'em off long enough to get your boots on, zur. Nobody's going to
catch a Marine officer in the sack."
He'd sleep with his boots on so that I could take mine off. It didn't make a
lot of sense, but I wasn't going to win any arguments with him about it. I
rolled into the sack and stared at the ceiling. My first day of command. I was
still thinking about that when I went to sleep.
* * *
The attacks started the next day. At first it was just small parties trying to
force the roadblock, and they never came close to doing that. We could put too
much fire onto them from the fort.
That night they tried the fort itself. There were a dozen mortars out there.
They weren't very accurate, and our radar system worked fine. They would get
off a couple of rounds, and then we'd have them backtracked to the origin
point and our whole battery would drop in on them. We couldn't silence them
completely, but we could make it unhealthy for the crews servicing their
mortars, and after a while the fire slackened. There were rifle attacks all
through the night, but nothing in strength.
"Just testing you," Falkenberg said in the morning when I reported to him.
"We're pressing hard from this end. They'll make a serious try before long."
"Yes, sir. How are things at your end?"
"We're moving," Falkenberg said. "There's more resistance than the colonel
expected, of course. With you stopping up their bolt hole, they've got no
route to retreat through. Fight or give up—that's all the choice we left them.
You can look for their real effort to break past you in a couple of days. By
then we'll be close enough to really worry them."
He was right. By the fourth day we were under continuous attack from more than
a thousand hostiles.
* * *
It was a strange situation. No one was really worried. We were holding them
off. Our ammunition stocks were running low, but Lieberman's answer to that
was to order the recruits to stop using their weapons. They were put to
serving mortars and recoilless rifles, with an experienced NCO in charge to
make sure there was a target worth the effort before they fired. The riflemen
waited for good shots and made each one count.
As long as the ammunition held out, we were in no serious danger. The fort had
a clear field of fire, and we weren't faced by heavy artillery. The best the
enemy had was mortars, and our counterbattery radar and computer system was
more than a match for that.
"No discipline," Lieberman said. "They got no discipline. Come in waves, run
in waves, but they never press the attack. Damned glad there's no Marine
deserters in that outfit. They'd have broke through if they'd had good
leadership."
"I'm worried about our ammunition supplies," I said.
"Hell, Lieutenant, Cap'n Falkenberg will get here. He's never let anybody down
yet."
"You've served with him before?"
"Yes, sir, in that affair on Domingo. Christian Johnny, we called him. He'll
be here."
Everyone acted that way. It made the situation unreal. We were under fire. You
couldn't put your head above the wall or outside the gate. Mortars dropped in
at random intervals, sometimes catching men in the open and wounding them
despite their body armor. We had four dead and nine more in the hospital
bunker. We were running low on ammunition, and we faced better than ten-to-one

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odds, and nobody was worried.
"Your job is to look confident," Falkenberg had told me. Sure.
On the fifth day things were getting serious for Sergeant Ardwain and his men
at the roadblock. They were running out of ammunition and water.
"Abandon it, Ardwain," I told him. "Bring your troops up here. We can keep the
road closed with fire from the fort."
"Sir. I have six casualties that can't walk, sir."
"How many total?"
"Nine, sir—two walking and one dead."
Nine out of a total of twelve men. "Hold fast, Sergeant. We'll come get you."
"Aye, aye, sir."
I wondered who I could spare. There wasn't much doubt as to who was the most
useless man on the post. I sent for Lieberman.
"Centurion, I want a dozen volunteers to go with me to relieve Ardwain's
group. We'll take full packs and extra ammunition and supplies."
"Lieutenant—"
"Damn it, don't tell me you don't want me to go. You're capable enough. You
told me that you need officers to tell you what to do, not how to do it. Fine.
Your orders are to hold this post until Falkenberg comes. One last thing—you
will not send or take any relief forces down the hill. I won't have this
command further weakened. Is that understood?"
"Sir."
"Fine. Now get me a dozen volunteers."
* * *
I decided to go down the hill just after moonset. We got the packs loaded and
waited at the gate. One of my volunteers was Corporal Brady. He stood at the
gate, chatting with the sentry there.
"Quiet tonight," Brady said.
"They're still there, though," the sentry said. "You'll know soon enough. Bet
you tomorrow's wine ration you don't make it down the hill."
"Done. Remember, you said down the hill. I expect you to save that wine for
me."
"Yeah. Hey, this is a funny place, Brady."
"How's that?"
"A holy Joe planet, and no Marine chaplain."
"You want a chaplain?"
The sentry shrugged. He had a huge black beard that he fingered, as if feeling
for lice. "Good idea, isn't it?"
"They're all right, but we don't need a chaplain. What we need is a good
Satanist. No Satanist in this battalion."
"What do you need one of them for?"
Brady laughed. "Stands to reason, don't it? God's good, right? He'll treat you
okay. It's the other guy you have to watch out for." He laughed again. "Got
three days on bread and no wine for saying that once. Told it to Chaplain
Major McCrory, back at Sector H.Q. He didn't appreciate it."
"Time to move out," I said. I shouldered my heavy pack.
"Do we run or walk, zur?" Hartz asked.
"Walk until they know we're there. And be quiet about it."
"Zur."
"Move out, Brady. Quietly."
"Sir." The sentry opened the gate, just a crack. Brady went through, then
another trooper, and another. Nothing happened, and finally it was my turn.
Hartz was last in the line.
The trail led steeply down the side of the cliff. It was about two meters
wide, just a slanting ledge, really. We were halfway down when there was a
burst of machine-gun fire. One of the troopers went down.
"Move like hell!" I said.
Two men grabbed the fallen trooper and hauled him along. We ran down the cliff
face, jumping across shortcuts at the switchbacks. There was nothing we could
see to shoot at, but more bullets sent chips flying from the granite cliff.

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The walls above us spurted flame. It looked like the whole company was up
there covering us. I hoped not. One of our recoilless men found a target and
for a few moments we weren't under fire. Then the rifles opened up. Something
zinged past my ear. Then I felt a hard punch in the gut and went down.
I lay there sucking air. Hartz grabbed one arm and shouted to another private.
"Jersey! Lieutenant's down. Give me a hand."
"I'm all right," I said. I felt my stomach area. There wasn't any blood.
"Armor stopped it. Just knocked the wind out of me." I was still gasping, and
I couldn't get my breath.
They dragged me along to Ardwain's command post. "How would we explain to the
Centurion if we didn't get you down?" Hartz asked.
The CP was a trench roofed over with ironwood logs. There were three wounded
men at one end. Brady took our wounded trooper there. He'd been hit in both
legs. Brady put tourniquets on them.
Hartz had his own ideas about first aid. He had a brandy flask. It was
supposed to be a universal cure. After he poured two shots down me, he went
over to the other end of the bunker to pass the bottle among the other
wounded.
"Only three of them, Ardwain?" I said. I was still gasping for air. "I thought
you had six."
"Six who cannot walk, sir. But three of them can still fight."

XI
"We're not going to get up that bluff. Not carrying wounded," I said.
"No, sir." Ardwain had runners carrying ammunition to his troopers. "We're dug
in good, sir. With the reinforcements you brought, we'll hold out."
"We damned well have to," I said.
"Not so bad, sir. Most of our casualties came from recoilless and mortars.
They've stopped using them. Probably low on ammunition."
"Let's hope they stay that way." I had another problem. The main defense for
the roadblock was mortar fire from the fort. Up above they were running low on
mortar shells. In another day we'd be on our own. No point in worrying about
it, I decided. We'll just have to do the best we can.
The next day was the sixth we'd been in the fort. We were low on rations. Down
at the roadblock we had nothing to eat but a dried meat that the men called
"monkey." It didn't taste bad, but it had the peculiar property of expanding
when you chewed it, so that after a while it seemed as if you had a mouthful
of rubber bands. It was said that Line Marines could march a thousand
kilometers if they had coffee, wine, and monkey.
We reached Falkenberg by radio at noon. He was still forty kilometers away,
and facing the hardest fighting yet. They had to go through villages
practically house by house.
"Can you hold?" he asked me.
"The rest of today and tonight, easily. By noon tomorrow we'll be out of
mortar shells. Sooner, maybe. When that happens, our outpost down at the
roadblock will be without support." I hadn't told him where I was.
"Can you hold until 1500 hours tomorrow?" he asked.
"The fort will hold. Don't know about the roadblock."
"We'll see what we can do," Falkenberg said. "Good luck."
"Christian Johnny'll get us out," Brady said.
"You know him?"
"Yes, sir. He'll get us out."
I wished I was as sure as he was.
* * *
They tried infiltrating during the night. I don't know how many crept up along
the riverbank, but there were a lot of them. Some went on past us. The others
moved in on our bunkers. The fighting was hand to hand, with knives and
bayonets and grenades doing most of the work, until we got our foxholes clear
and I was able to order the men down into them. Then I had Lieberman drop
mortar fire in on our own positions for ten minutes. When it lifted, we went

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out to clear the area.
When morning came we had three more dead, and every man in the section was
wounded. I'd got a grenade fragment in my left upper arm just below where the
armor left off. It was painful, but nothing to worry about.
There were twenty dead in our area, and bloody trails were leading off where
more enemies had crawled away.
An hour after dawn they rushed us again. The fort had few mortar shells left.
We called each one in carefully. They couldn't spare us too much attention,
though, because there was a general attack on the fort, as well. When there
were moments of quiet in the firing around Fort Beersheba, we could hear more
distant sounds to the east. Falkenberg's column was blasting its way through
another village.
Ardwain got it just at noon. A rifle bullet in the neck. It looked bad. Brady
dragged him into the main bunker and put a compress on. Ardwain's breath
rattled in his throat, and his mouth oozed blood. That left Roff and Brady as
NCOs, and Roff was immobile, with fragments through his left leg.
At 1230 hours we had four effectives, and no fire support from the fort. We'd
lost the troops down by the riverbank, and we could hear movement there.
"They're getting past us, damn it!" I shouted. "All this for nothing! Hartz,
get me Lieberman."
"Zur." Hartz was working one-handed. His right arm was in shreds. He insisted
on staying with me, but I didn't count him as one of my effectives.
"Sergeant Roszak," the radio said.
"Where's Lieberman?"
"Dead, sir. I'm senior NCO."
"What mortar ammunition have you?"
"Fourteen rounds, sir."
"Drop three onto the riverbank just beyond us, and stand by to use more."
"Aye, aye, sir. One moment. There was silence. Then he said, "On the way."
"How is it up there?"
"We're fighting at the walls, sir. We've lost the north section, but the
bunkers are covering that area."
"Christ. You'll need the mortars to hold the fort. But there's no point in
holding that fort if the roadblock goes. Stand by to use the last mortar
rounds at my command."
"Aye, aye, sir. We can hold."
"Sure you can." Sure.
I looked out through the bunker's firing slit. There were men coming up the
road. Dozens of them. I had one clip left in my rifle, and I began trying to
pick them off with slow fire. Hartz used his rifle with his left hand, firing
one shot every two seconds, slow, aimed fire.
There were more shots from off to my left. Corporal Brady was in a bunker over
there, but his radio wasn't working. Attackers moved toward his position. I
couldn't hear any others of my command.
Suddenly Brady's trumpet sounded. The brassy notes cut through the battle
noises. He played "To Arms!," then settled into the Line Marine march. "We've
left blood in the dirt of twenty-five worlds—"
There was a movement in the bunker. Recruit Dietz, hit twice in the stomach,
had dragged himself over to Sergeant Ardwain and found Ardwain's pistol. He
crawled up to the firing slit and began shooting. He coughed blood with each
round. Another trooper staggered out of the bush. He reeled like a drunk as he
lurched toward the road. He carried a rack of grenades strung around his neck
and threw them mechanically, staggering forward and throwing grenades. He had
only one arm. He was hit a dozen times and fell, but his arm moved to throw
the last grenade before he died.
More attackers moved toward Brady's bunker. The trumpet call wavered for a
moment as Brady fired, and then the notes came as clear as ever.
"Roszak! I've got a fire mission," I said.
"Sir."
"Let me describe the situation down here." I gave him the positions of my CP,

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Brady's bunker, and the only other one I thought might have any of our troops
in it. "Everyplace else is full of hostiles, and they're getting past us along
the riverbank. I want you to drop a couple of mortar rounds forty meters down
the road from the CP, just north of the road, but not too far north. Corporal
Brady's in there and it would be a shame to spoil his concert."
"We hear him up here, sir. Wait one." There was silence. "On the way."
The mortar shells came in seconds later. Brady was still playing. I remembered
his name now. It was ten years ago on Earth. He'd been a famous man until he
dropped out of sight. Roszak had left his mike open, and in the background I
could hear the men in the fort cheering wildly.
Roszak's voice came in my ears. "General order from battalion headquarters,
sir. You're to stay in your bunkers. No one to expose himself. Urgent general
order, sir."
I wondered what the hell Falkenberg was doing giving me general orders, but I
used my command set to pass them along. I doubted if anyone heard, but it
didn't matter. No one was going anywhere.
Suddenly the road exploded. The whole distance from fifty meters away down as
far as I could see vanished in a line of explosions. They kept coming,
pounding the road; then the riverbank was lifted in great clods of mud. The
road ahead was torn to bits; then the pieces were lifted by another salvo, and
another. I drove into the bottom of the bunker and held my ears while shells
dropped all around me.
Finally it lifted. I could hear noises in my phones, but my ears were ringing,
and I couldn't understand. It wasn't Roszak's voice. Finally it came through.
"Do you need more fire support, Mr. Slater?"
"No. Lord, what shooting—"
"I'll tell the gunners that," Falkenberg said. "Hang on, Hal. We'll be another
hour, but you'll have fire support from now on."
Outside, Brady's trumpet sang out another march.

XII
They sent me back to Garrison to get my arm fixed. There's a fungus infection
on Arrarat that makes even minor wounds dangerous. I spent a week in surgery
getting chunks cut out of my arm, then another week in regeneration
stimulation. I wanted to get back to my outfit, but the surgeon wouldn't hear
of it. He wanted me around to check up on the regrowth.
Sergeant Ardwain was in the next bay. It was going to take a while to get him
back together, but he'd be all right. With Lieberman dead, Ardwain would be up
for a Centurion's badges.
It drove me crazy to be in Garrison while my company, minus its only officer
and both its senior NCOs, was out at Fort Beersheba. The day they let me out
of sick bay I was ready to mutiny, but there wasn't any transportation, and
Major Lorca made it clear that I was to stay in Garrison until the surgeon
released me. I went to my quarters in a blue funk.
The place was all fixed up. Private Hartz was there grinning at me. His right
arm was in an enormous cast, bound to his chest with what seemed like a mile
of gauze.
"How did you get out before I did?" I asked him.
"No infection, zur. I poured brandy on the wounds." He winced. "It was a
waste, but there was more than enough for the few of us left."
There was another surprise. Irina Swale came out of my bedroom.
"Miss Swale has been kind enough to help with the work here, zur," Hartz said.
He seemed embarrassed. "She insisted, zur. If the lieutenant will excuse me, I
have laundry to pick up, zur."
I grinned at him and he left. Now what? I wondered. "Thanks."
"It's the least I could do for Arrarat's biggest hero," Irina said.
"Hero? Nonsense—"
"I suppose it's nonsense that my father is giving you the military medal, and
that Colonel Harrington has put in for something else; I forget what, but it
can't be approved here—it has to come from Sector Headquarters."

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"News to me," I said. "And I still don't think—"
"You don't have to. Aren't you going to ask me to sit down? Would you like
something to drink? We have everything here. Private Hartz is terribly
efficient."
"So are you. I'm not doing well, am I? Please have a seat. I'd get you a
drink, but I don't know where anything is."
"And you couldn't handle the bottles, anyway. I'll get it." She went into the
other room and came out with two glasses. Brandy for me and that Jericho wine
she liked. Hartz at work, I thought. I'll be drinking that damned brandy the
rest of my life.
"It was pretty bad, wasn't it?" she said. She sat on the couch that had
appeared while I was gone.
"Bad enough." Out of my original ninety, there were only twelve who hadn't
been wounded. Twenty-eight dead, and another dozen who wouldn't be back on
duty for a long time. "But we held." I shook my head. "Not bragging, Irina.
Amazed, mostly. We held."
"I've been wondering about something," she said. "I asked Louis Bonneyman, and
he wouldn't answer me. Why did you have to hold the fort? It was much the
hardest part of the campaign, wasn't it? Why didn't Captain Falkenberg do it?"
"Had other things to do, I suppose. They haven't let me off drugs long enough
to learn anything over in sick bay. What's happening out there?"
"It went splendidly," she said. "The Harmony militia are in control of the
whole river. The boats are running again, grain prices have fallen here in the
city—"
"You don't sound too happy."
"Is it that obvious?" She sat quietly for a moment. She seemed to be trying to
control her face. Her lips were trembling. "My father says you've accomplished
your mission. He won't let Colonel Harrington send you out to help the other
farmers. And the River Pack weren't the worst of the convict governments! In a
lot of ways they weren't even so bad. I thought . . . I'd hoped you could go
south, to the farmlands, where things are really bad, but Hugo has negotiated
a steady supply of grain and he says it's none of our business."
"You're certainly anxious to get us killed."
She looked at me furiously. Then she saw my grin. "By the way," she said,
"you're expected at the palace for dinner tonight. I've already cleared it
with the surgeon. And this time I expect you to come! All those plans for my
big party, and it was nothing but a trick your Captain Falkenberg had planned!
You will come, won't you? Please?"
* * *
We ate alone. Governor Swale was out in the newly taken territory trying to
set up a government that would last. Irina's mother had left him years before,
and her only brother was a Navy officer somewhere in Pleiades Sector.
After dinner I did what she probably expected me to. I kissed her, then held
her close to me and hoped to go to something a bit more intimate. She pushed
me away. "Hal, please."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I like you, Hal. It's just that—"
"Deane Knowles," I said.
She gave me a puzzled look. "No, of course not. But . . . I do like your
friend Louis. Can't we be friends, Hal? Do we have to—"
"Of course we can be friends."
I saw a lot of her in the next three weeks. Friends. I found myself thinking
about her when I wasn't with her, and I didn't like that. The whole thing's
silly, I told myself. Junior officers have no business getting involved with
Governors' daughters. Nothing can come of it, and you don't want anything to
come of it to begin with. Your life's complicated enough as it is.
I kept telling myself that right up to the day the surgeon told me I could
rejoin my outfit. I was glad to go.
* * *
It was still my company. I hadn't been with most of them at all, and I'd been

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with the team at the fort only a few days, but A Company was mine. Every man
in the outfit thought so. I wondered what I'd done right. It didn't seem to me
that I'd made any good decisions, or really any at all.
"Luck," Deane told me. "They think you're lucky."
That explained it. Line Marines are probably the most superstitious soldiers
in history. And we'd certainly had plenty of luck.
I spent the next six weeks honing the troops into shape. By that time Ardwain
was back, with Centurion's badges. He was posted for light duty only, but that
didn't stop him from working the troops until they were ready to drop. We had
more recruits, recently arrived convicts, probably men who'd been part of the
River Pack at one time. It didn't matter. The Marine Machine takes over, and
if it doesn't break you, you come out a Marine.
Falkenberg had a simple solution to the problem of deserters. He offered a
reward, no questions asked, to anyone who brought in a deserter—and a larger
reward for anyone bringing in the deserter's head. It wasn't an original idea,
but it was effective.
Or had been effective. As more weeks went by with nothing to do but make
patrols along the river, drill and train, stand formal retreat and parades and
inspections, men began to think of running.
They also went berserk. They'd get drunk and shoot a comrade. Steal. We
couldn't drill them forever, and when we gave them any time off, they'd get
the bug.
The day the main body had reached Fort Beersheba, the 501st had been
combat-weary, with a quarter of its men on the casualty list. It was an
exhausted battalion, but it had high spirits. Now, a few months later, it was
up to strength, trained to perfection, well-organized and well-fed—and
unhappy.
I found a trooper painting I.H.T.F.P. on the orderly room wall. He dropped the
paint bucket and stood to attention as I came up.
"And what does that mean, Hora?"
He stood straight as a ramrod. "Sir, it means 'I Have Truly Found Paradise.'"
"And what's going to happen to you if Sergeant Major truly finds Private Hora
painting on the orderly room wall?"
"Cells, Lieutenant."
"If you're lucky. More likely you'll get to dig a hole and live in it a week.
Hora, I'm going to the club for a drink. I don't expect to see any paint on
that wall when I come back."
Deane laughed when I told him about it. "So they're doing that already. 'I
hate this fucking place.' He means it, too."
"Give us another six weeks and I'll be painting walls," I said. "Only I'll put
mine on the Governor's palace."
"You'll have to wait your turn," Deane said.
"Goddamn it, Deane, what can we do? The NCOs have gotten so rough I think I'll
have to start noticing it, but if we relax discipline at all, things will
really come apart."
"Yeah. Have you spoken to Falkenberg about it?"
"Sure I have," I told him. "But what can he do? What we need is some combat,
Deane. I never thought I'd say that. I thought that was all garbage that they
gave us at the Academy, that business about le cafard and losing more men to
it than to an enemy, but I believe it now."
"Cheer up," Deane said. "Louis is officer of the day, and I just heard the
word from him. We've got a break in the routine. Tomorrow Governor Hugo Swale,
Hisself, is coming to pay a visit to the gallant troops of the 501st. He's
bringing your medal, I make no doubt."
"How truly good," I said. "I'd rather he brought us a good war."
"Give him time," Deane said. "The way those damned merchants from Harmony are
squeezing the farmers, they're all ready to revolt."
"Just what we need. A campaign to put down the farmers," I said. "Poor
bastards. They get it from everybody, don't they? Convicts that call
themselves tax collectors. Now you say the Harmony merchants—"

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"Yeah," Deane said. "Welcome to the glory of CoDominium Service."
* * *
Sergeant Major Ogilvie's baritone rang out across the Fort Beersheba parade
ground. "Battalion, attenhut! A Company color guard, front and center,
march!"
That was a surprise. Governor Swale had just presented me with the military
medal, which isn't the Earth, but I was a bit proud of it. Now our color guard
marched across the hard adobe field to the reviewing stand.
"Attention to orders," Ogilvie said. "For conspicuous gallantry in the face of
the enemy, A Company, 501st Provisional Battalion, is awarded the Unit
Citation of Merit. By order of Rear Admiral Sergei Lermontov, Captain of the
Fleet, Crucis Sector Headquarters.
"Company, pass in review!"
Bits of cloth and metal, and men will die for them, I thought. The old
military game. It's all silly. And we held our heads high as we marched past
the reviewing stand.
* * *
Falkenberg had found five men who could play bagpipes, or claimed they
could—how can you tell if they're doing it right?—and they had made their own
pipes. Now they marched around the table in the officers' mess at Fort
Beersheba. Stewards brought whiskey and brandy.
Governor Hugo Swale sat politely, trying not to show any distress as the
pipers thundered past him. Eventually they stopped. "I think we should join
the ladies," Swale said. He looked relieved when Falkenberg stood.
We went into the lounge. Irina had brought another girl, a visitor from one of
the farm areas. She was about nineteen, I thought, with red-brown hair and
blue eyes. She would have been beautiful if she didn't have a perpetual
haunted look. Irina had introduced her as Kathryn Malcolm.
Governor Swale was obviously embarrassed to have her around. He was a strange
little man. There was no resemblance between him and Irina, nothing that would
make you think he was her father. He was short and dumpy, almost completely
bald, with wrinkles on his high forehead. He had a quick nervous manner of
speaking and gesturing. He so obviously disliked Kathryn that I think only the
bagpipes could have driven him to want to get back to her company. I wondered
why. There'd been no chance to talk to any of them at dinner.
We sat around the fireplace. Falkenberg gave a curt nod, and all the stewards
left except Monitor Lazar, Falkenberg's own orderly. Lazar brought a round of
drinks and went off into the pantry.
"Well. Here's to A Company and its commander," Falkenberg said. I sat
embarrassed as the others stood and lifted their glasses.
"Good work, indeed," Hugo Swale said. "Thanks to this young man, the Jordan
Valley is completely pacified. It will take a long time before there's any
buildup of arms here again. I want to thank you gentlemen for doing such a
thorough job."
I'd had a bit too much to drink with dinner, and there'd been brandy
afterward, and the pipers with their wild war sounds. My head was buzzing.
"Perhaps too thorough," I muttered as the others sat down. I honestly don't
know whether I wanted the others to hear me or not. Deane and Louis threw me
sharp looks.
"What do you mean, Hal?" Irina asked.
"Nothing."
"Spit it out," Falkenberg said. The tone made it an order.
"I've a dozen good men in cells and three more in a worse kind of punishment,
half my company is on extra duty, and the rest of them are going slowly mad,"
I said. "If we'd left a bit of the fighting to do, we'd at least have
employment." I tried to make it a joke.
Governor Swale took it seriously. "It's as much a soldier's job to prevent
trouble as to fight," he said.
You pompous ass, I thought. But of course he was right.
"There's plenty that needs doing," Kathryn Malcolm said. "If your men are

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spoiling to fight somebody, loan them to us for a while." She wasn't joking at
all.
Governor Swale wasn't pleased at all. "That will do, Kathryn. You know we
can't do that."
"And why not?" she demanded. "You're supposed to be Governor of this whole
planet, but the only people you care about are the merchants in Harmony—those
sanctimonious hymn-singers! You know the grain they're buying is stolen.
Stolen from us, by gangsters who claim to be our government, and if we don't
give them what they want, they take it anyway, and kill everyone who tries to
stop them. And then you buy it from them!"
"There is nothing I can do," Swale protested. "I don't have enough troops to
govern the whole planet. The Grand Senate explicitly instructed me to deal
with local governments—"
"The way you did with the River Pack," Kathryn said. Her voice was bitter.
"All they did was try to make some money by charging tolls for river traffic.
They wouldn't deal with your damned merchants, so you sent the Marines to
bargain with them. Just how many people in the Jordan Valley thanked you for
that, Governor? Do they think you're their liberator?"
"Kathryn, that's not fair," Irina protested. "There are plenty of people glad
to be free of the River Pack. You shouldn't say things like that."
"All I meant was that the River Pack wasn't so bad. Not compared to what we
have to live with. But his Excellency isn't concerned about us, because his
merchants can buy their grain at low prices. He doesn't care that we've become
slaves."
Swale's lips tightened, but he didn't say anything.
"Local governments," Kathryn said. "What you've done, Governor, is recognize
one gang. There's another gang, too, and both of them collect taxes from us!
It's bad enough with just one, but it can't even protect us from the other! If
you won't give us our land back, can't you at least put down the rival
gangsters so we only have one set of crooks stealing from us?"
Swale kept his voice under control. He was elaborately polite as he said,
"There is nothing we can do, Miss Malcolm. I wish there were. I suggest you
people help yourselves."
"That isn't fair, either," Irina said. "You know it isn't. They didn't ask for
all those convicts to be sent here. I think Kathryn has a very good idea. Loan
her the 501st. Once those hills are cleaned out and the gangsters are
disarmed, the farmers can protect themselves. Can't they, Kathryn?"
"I think so. We'd be ready, this time."
"See? And Hal says his men are spoiling for a good fight. Why not let them do
it?"
"Irina, I have to put up with that from Miss Malcolm because she is a guest,
but I do not have to take it from you, and I will not. Captain, I thought I
was an invited guest on this post."
Falkenberg nodded. "I think we'd best change the subject," he said.
There was an embarrassed silence. Then Kathryn got up and went angrily to the
door. "You needn't bother to see me to my room," she said. "I can take care of
myself. I've had to do it often enough. I'm not surprised that Captain
Falkenberg isn't eager to lead his troops into the hills. I notice that he
sent a newly commissioned lieutenant to do the tough part of Governor Swale's
dirty work. I'm not surprised at all that he doesn't want any more fighting."
She left, slamming the door behind her.
Falkenberg acted as if he hadn't heard her. I don't suppose there was anything
else he could do. The party didn't last much longer.
* * *
I went to my rooms alone. Deane and Louis offered to stay with me, but I
didn't want them. I told them I'd had enough celebrating.
Hartz had left the brandy bottle on the table, and I poured myself another
drink, although I didn't want it. The table was Arrarat ironwood, and God
knows how the troops had managed to cut planks out of it. My company had built
it, and a desk, and some other furniture, and put them in my rooms while I was

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in hospital. I ran my hand along the polished tabletop.
She should never have said that, I thought. And I expect it's my fault. I
remembered Irina saying much the same thing back in Garrison, and I hadn't
protested. My damned fault. Falkenberg never explained anything about himself,
and I'd never learned why he hadn't come with us the night we attacked the
fort, but I was damned sure it wasn't cowardice. Louis and Deane had
straightened me out about that. No one who'd been with him on the march up the
river could even suspect it.
And why the hell didn't I tell Irina that? I wondered. Cocky kid, trying to
impress the girl. Too busy being proud of himself to—
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," I said.
It was Sergeant Major Ogilvie. There were some others in the hall. "Yes,
Sergeant Major?"
"If we could have a word with the lieutenant. We have a problem, sir."
"Come in."
Ogilvie came inside. When his huge shoulders were out of the doorway, I saw
Monitor Lazar and Kathryn Malcolm behind him. They all came in, and Kathryn
stood nervously, her hands twisted together. "It's all my fault," she said.
Ogilvie ignored her. "Sir, I have to report that Monitor Lazar has removed
certain orders from the battalion files without authorization."
"Why tell me?" I asked. "He's Captain Falkenberg's orderly."
"Sir, if you'll look at the papers. He showed them to this civilian. If you
say we should report it to the captain, we'll have to." Ogilvie's voice was
carefully controlled. He handed me a bound stack of papers.
They were orders from Colonel Harrington to Falkenberg as commander of the
501st, and they were dated the first day we'd arrived on Arrarat. I'd never
seen them myself. No reason I should, unless Falkenberg were killed and I had
to take over as his deputy.
Lazar stood at rigid attention. He wasn't looking at me, but seemed fascinated
with a spot on the wall above me.
"You say Miss Malcolm has read these, Sergeant Major?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then it will do no harm if I read them, I suppose." I opened the order book.
The first pages were general orders commanding Falkenberg to organize the
501st. There was more, about procedures for liaison with Major Lorca and the
Garrison supply depot. I'd seen copies of all those. "Why the devil did you
think Miss Malcolm would be interested in this stuff, Lazar?" I asked.
"Not that, sir," Ogilvie said. "Next page."
I thumbed through the book again. There it was.

Captain John Christian Falkenberg, Commanding Officer,
501st Provisional Battalion of Line Marines:

These orders are written confirmation of verbal orders issued in conference
with above-named officer.

2. The 501st Bn. is ordered to occupy Fort Beersheba at earliest possible
moment consistent with safety of the command and at the discretion of Bn. C.O.

Immediate airborne assault on Fort Beersheba is authorized, provided that
assault risks no more than 10% of effective strength of 501st Bn.

Any assault on Fort Beersheba in advance of main body of 501st Bn. shall be
commanded by officer other than CO 501st Bn., and request of Captain
Falkenberg to accompany assault and return to Bn. after Fort Beersheba is
taken is expressly denied.

note: It is the considered judgment of undersigned that officers assigned to
501st would not be competent to organize Bn. and accomplish main objective of
pacification of Jordan Valley without supervision of experienced officer. It

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is further considered judgment of undersigned that secondary objective of
early capture of Fort Beersheba does not justify endangering main mission of
occupation of Jordan Valley. Captain Falkenberg is therefore ordered to
refrain from exposing himself to combat risks until such time as primary
mission is assured.

By Order of Planetary Military Commander

Nicholas Harrington, Colonel
CoDominium Marines

"Lazar, I take it you were listening to our conversation earlier," I said.
"No way to avoid it, sir. The lady was shouting." Lazar's expression didn't
change.
I turned the book over and over in my hands. "Sergeant Major."
"Sir."
"I'm finished with this order book. Would you please see that it's returned to
the battalion safe? Also, I think I forgot to log it out. You may do as you
see fit about that."
"Sir."
"Thank you. You and Lazar may go now. I see no reason why the captain should
be disturbed because I wanted a look at the order book."
"Yes, sir. Let's go, Monitor." Ogilvie started to say something else, but he
stopped himself. They left, closing the door behind them.
"That was nice of you," Kathryn said.
"About all I could do," I said. "Would you like a drink?"
"No, thank you. I feel like a fool—"
"You're not the only one. I was just thinking the same thing, and for about
the same reasons, when Ogilvie knocked. Won't you sit down? I suppose we
should open the door."
"Don't be silly." She pulled a chair up to the big table. She was wearing a
long plaid skirt, like a very long kilt, with a shiny blouse of some local
fabric, and a wool jacket that didn't close at the front. Her hair was long,
brown with red in it, but I thought it might be a wig. A damned pretty girl, I
thought. But there was that haunted look in her eyes, and her hands were
scarred, tiny scars that showed regeneration therapy by unskilled surgeons.
"I think Irina said you're a farmer. You don't look like a farmer."
She didn't smile. "I own a farm . . . or did. It's been confiscated by the
government—one of our governments." Her voice was bitter. "The Mission Hills
Protective Association. A gang of convicts. We used to fight them. My
grandfather and my mother and my brother and my fiancé were all killed
fighting them. Now we don't do anything at all."
"How many of these gangsters are there?"
She shrugged. "I guess the Protectionists have about four thousand. Something
like that, anyway. Then there is the True Brotherhood. They have only a few
hundred, maybe a thousand. No one really knows. They aren't really very well
organized."
"Seems like they'd be no problem."
"They wouldn't be, if we could deal with them, but the Protective Association
keeps our farmers disarmed and won't let us go on commando against the
Brotherhood. They're afraid we'll throw the Association out, as well. The
Brotherhood isn't anything real—they're closer to savages than human
beings—but we can't do anything about them because the Association won't let
us."
"And how many of you are there?"
"There are twenty thousand farmers in the Valley," she said. "And don't tell
me we ought to be able to run both gangs off. I know we should be able to. But
we tried it, and it didn't work. Whenever they raided one of our places, we'd
turn out to chase them down, but they'd run into the hills, where it would
take weeks to find them. Then they'd wait until we came down to grow crops

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again, then come down and kill everyone who resisted them, families and all."
"Is that what happened to your grandfather?"
"Yes. He'd been one of the Valley leaders. They weren't really trying to loot
his place; they just wanted to kill him. I tried to organize resistance after
that, and then—" She looked at her hands. "They caught me. I guess I will have
that drink, after all."
"There's only brandy, I'm afraid. Or coffee."
"Brandy is all right."
I got another glass and poured. Her hands didn't shake as she lifted it.
"Aren't you going to ask?" she said. "Everyone wants to know, but they're
afraid to ask." She shuddered. "They don't want to embarrass me. Embarrass!"
"Look, you don't want to talk about—"
"I don't want to, but I have to. Can you understand that?"
"Yes."
"Hal, there's very little you can imagine that they didn't do to me. The only
reason I lived through it was that they wanted me to live. Afterward, they put
me in a cage in the village square. As an example. A warning."
"I'd have thought that would have the opposite effect." I was trying to speak
calmly, but inside I was boiling with hatred.
"No. I wish it had. It would have been worth it. Maybe—I don't know. The
second night I was there, two men who'd been neighbors killed one of their
guards and got me out. The Protectionists shot thirty people the next day in
reprisal." She looked down at her hands. "My friends got me to a safe place.
The doctor wasn't very well trained, they tell me. He left scars. If they
could see what I was like when I got to him, they wouldn't say that."
I didn't know what to say. I didn't trust myself to say anything. I wanted to
take her in my arms and hold her, not anything else, just hold her and protect
her. And I wanted to get my hands on the people who'd done this, and on anyone
who could have stopped it and didn't. My God, what are soldiers for, if not to
put a stop to things like that? But all I could do was pour her another drink.
I tried to keep my voice calm. "What will you do now?"
"I don't know. When Father Reedy finally let me leave his place, I went to
Harmony. I guess I hoped I could get help. But . . . Hal, why won't Governor
Swale do something? Anything?"
"More a matter of why should he," I said. "God, Kathryn, how can I say it?
From his view, things are quiet. He can report that all's well here. They
don't promote troublemakers in BuColonial, and Hugo Swale doesn't strike me as
the kind of man who wants to retire on Arrarat." I drained my brandy glass.
"Maybe I'm not being fair to him. Somehow I don't even want to be."
"But you'd help us if you could. Wouldn't you?"
"My God, yes. At least you're safe now."
She had a sad little smile. "Yes, nothing but a few scars. Come here. Please."
She stood. I went to her. "Put your hands on my shoulders," she said.
I reached out to her. She stood rigidly. I could feel her trembling as I
touched her.
"It happens every time," she said. "Even now, and I like you. I . . . Hal, I'd
give anything if I could just relax and let you hold me. But I can't. It's all
I can do to sit here and talk to you."
"Then I'd better let you go."
"No. Please. Please understand. I like you. I want to talk with you. I want to
show myself there are men I can trust. Just . . . don't expect too much . . .
not for a while. I keep telling myself I'm going to get over it. I don't want
to be alone, but I'm afraid to be with anyone, and I'm going to get over
that."

XIII
We had more weeks of parades and training. Falkenberg had a new scheme. He
bought two hundred mules and assigned my company the job of learning to live
with them. The idea was to increase our marching capability by using pack
mules, and to teach the men to hang on to the pack saddles so they could cover

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more kilometers each day. It worked fine, but it only increased the
frustration because there was nothing to march toward.
Governor Swale had gone back to Garrison, but Irina and Kathryn stayed as
guests of the battalion. The men were pleased to have them on the post, and
there was much less of a problem with discipline. They particularly adopted
Kathryn. She was interested in everything they did, and the troops thought of
her as a mascot. She was young and vulnerable, and she didn't talk down to
them, and they were half in love with her.
I was more than that. I saw so much of her that Falkenberg thought it
worthwhile to remind me that the service does not permit lieutenants to marry.
That isn't strictly true, of course, but it might as well be. There's no
travel allowance and it takes an appeal to Saint Peter or perhaps an even
higher level to get married quarters. The rule is, "Captains may marry, Majors
should marry, Colonels must marry," and there aren't many exceptions to it.
"Not much danger of that," I told him.
"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow. It was an infuriating gesture.
I blurted out her story.
He only nodded. "I was aware of most of it, Mr. Slater."
"How in God's name can you be so cool about it?" I demanded. "I know you don't
like her after that outburst—"
"Miss Malcolm has been very careful to apologize and to credit you with the
explanation," Falkenberg said. "And the next time you take the order book out
of the safe, I'll expect you to log it properly. Now tell me why we have three
men of your company sleeping under their bunks without blankets."
He didn't really want an explanation, of course, and for that matter he
probably already knew. There wasn't much about the battalion that he didn't
know. It made a smooth change of subject, but I wasn't having any. I told him,
off the record, what the charges would have been if I'd officially heard what
the men had done. "Centurion Ardwain preferred not to report it," I said.
"Captain, I still cannot understand how you can be so calm when you know that
not two hundred kilometers from here—"
"Mr. Slater, I remain calm because at the moment there is very little I can
do. What do you want? That we lead the 501st in a mutiny? If it is any comfort
to you, I do not think the situation will last. It is my belief that Governor
Swale is living in a fool's paradise. You cannot deal with criminal gangs on
any permanent basis, and I believe the situation will explode. Until it does,
there is not one damned thing we can do, and I prefer not to be reminded of my
helplessness."
"But, sir—"
"But nothing, Mr. Slater. Shut up and soldier."
* * *
Falkenberg had guessed right. Although we didn't know it, about the time we
had that conversation the Protective Association had decided to raise the
price of grain. Two weeks later they hiked the price again and held up the
shipments to show the Governor they meant it.
It wasn't long after that the Governor paid another visit to Fort Beersheba.
Deane Knowles found me in the club. "His Excellency has arrived," he said.
"He's really come with full kit this time. He's brought Colonel Harrington and
a whole company of militia."
"What the devil are they for?" I asked.
"Search me."
"I thought you knew everything, well, well. I suppose we will know soon
enough. There's Officers' Call."
The Governor, Colonel Harrington, and Falkenberg were all in the staff
conference room. There was also a colonel of militia. He didn't look very
soldierly. His uniform was baggy, and he had a bulge around his middle. The
Governor introduced him as Colonel Trevor.
"I'll come right to the point, gentlemen," Swale said. "Due to certain
developments in the southern areas, I am no longer confident that food supply
for the cities of Harmony and Garrison is assured. The local government down

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there has not negotiated in good faith. It's time to put some pressure on
them."
"In other words," Colonel Harrington said, "he wants to send the Marines down
to bash heads so the Harmony merchants won't have to pay so much."
"Colonel, that remark was not called for," Governor Swale said.
"Certainly it was." There was no humor in Harrington's voice. "If we can send
my lads down to get themselves killed, we can tell them why they're going.
It's hardly a new mission for the Line Marines."
"Your orders are to hold the cities," Swale said. "That cannot be done without
adequate food supplies. I think that justifies using your troops for this
campaign."
"Sure it does," Harrington said. "And after the CD pulls both of us out of
here, what happens? Doesn't that worry you a bit, Colonel Trevor?"
"The CoDominium won't abandon Arrarat." Trevor sounded very positive.
"You're betting a lot on that," Colonel Harrington told him.
"If you two are quite through," Swale said. "Captain, how soon can your
battalion be ready to march?"
Falkenberg looked to Colonel Harrington. "Are we to hold the Jordan area, as
well, sir?"
"You won't need much here," Harrington said. "The militia can take over now."
"And what precisely are we to accomplish in the southern farm area?"
Falkenberg asked.
"I just told you," Swale said. "Go down and put some pressure on the
Protective Association so they'll see reason."
"And how am I to do that?"
"For heaven's sake, Falkenberg, it's a punitive expedition. Go hurt them until
they're ready to give in."
"Burn farms and towns. Shoot livestock. Destroy transport systems. That sort
of thing?"
"Well . . . I'd rather you didn't do it that way."
"Then, Governor, exactly what am I to do?" Falkenberg demanded. "I remind you
that the Protective Association is itself an occupying power. They don't
really care what we do to the farmers. They don't work that land; they merely
expropriate from those who do."
"Then confine your punitive actions to the Protective Association—" Swale's
voice trailed off.
"I do not even know how to identify them, sir. I presume that anyone I find
actually working the land is probably not one of the criminal element, but I
can hardly shoot everyone who happens to be idle at the moment I pass
through."
"You needn't be sarcastic with me, Captain."
"Sir, I am trying to point out the difficulties inherent in the orders you
gave me. If I have been impertinent, you have my apology."
Sure you do, I thought. Deane and Louis grinned at each other and at me. Then
we managed to get our faces straight. I wondered what Falkenberg was trying to
do. I found out soon enough.
"Then what the devil do you suggest?" Swale demanded.
"Governor, there is a way I can assure you a reasonable and adequate grain
supply. It requires your cooperation. Specifically, you must withdraw
recognition from the Protective Association."
"And recognize whom? An unorganized bunch of farmers who couldn't hold on to
the territory in the first place? Captain, I have sympathy for those people,
even if all of you here do suspect me of being a monster with no feelings. My
sympathy is of no matter. I must feed the people of Harmony, and to do that
I'll deal with the devil himself if that's what it takes."
"And you very nearly have," I muttered.
"What's that, Lieutenant Slater?"
"Nothing, Governor. Excuse me."
"I expect I know what you said. Captain, let's suppose I do what you ask and
withdraw recognition from the Protective Association. Now what do I do? We are

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not in the democracy-building business. My personal sympathies may well lie
with what we are pleased to call 'free and democratic institutions,' but I
happen to be an official of the CoDominium, not of the United States. So, by
the way, do you. If this planet had been settled by Soviets, we wouldn't even
be having this conversation. There would be an assured grain supply, and no
nonsense about it."
"I hardly think the situations are comparable," Colonel Harrington said.
"Nor I," Trevor added. That surprised me.
"I ask again, what do we do?" the Governor said.
"Extend CoDominium protection to the area," Harrington said. "It needn't be
permanent. I make no doubt that Colonel Trevor's people have friends among the
farmers. We may not be in the democracy-building business, but there are
plenty who'd like to try."
"You are asking for all-out war on the Protective Association," Swale said.
"Colonel Harrington, have you any idea of what that will cost? The Senate is
very reluctantly paying the basic costs of keeping these Marines on Arrarat.
They have not sent one deci-credit to pay for combat actions. How am I
supposed to pay for this war?"
"You'll just have to tax the grain transactions, that's all," Harrington said.
"I can't do that."
"You're going to have to do it. Captain Falkenberg is right. We can drive out
the Protective Association—with enough local cooperation—but we sure as hell
can't grow wheat for you. I suppose we could exterminate everyone in the whole
damned valley and repopulate it—
"Now you're being impertinent."
"My apologies," Harrington said. "Governor, just what do you want? Those
farmers aren't going to grow crops just to have a bunch of gangsters take the
profits. They'll move out first, or take the land out of cultivation. Then
what happens to your grain supply?"
"The situation is more complex than you think, Colonel. Believe me, it is.
Your business is war and violence. Mine is politics, and I tell you that
things aren't always what they seem. The Protective Association can keep
Harmony supplied with grain at a reasonable price. That's what we must have,
and it's what you're going to get for me. Now you tell me that my only
alternatives are a war I can't pay for, or starvation in the city. Neither is
acceptable. I order you to send an expeditionary force to Allansport. It will
have the limited objective of demonstrating our intent and putting sufficient
pressure on the Protective Association to make them reasonable, and that is
the whole objective."
Harrington studied his fingernails for a moment. "Sir, I cannot accept the
responsibility."
"Damn you. Captain Falkenberg, you will—"
"I can't accept the responsibility, either, Governor."
"Then, by God, I'll have Colonel Trevor lead it. Trevor, if you say you can't
accept responsibility, I damned well know a dozen militia officers who can."
"Yes, sir. Who'll command the Marines sir? They won't take orders from me. Not
directly."
"The lieutenants will—" He stopped, because one by one, Deane, Louis, and I
all shook our heads.
"This is blackmail! I'll have every one of you cashiered!"
Colonel Harrington laughed. "Now, you know, I really doubt that. Me you might
manage to get at. But junior officers for refusing an assignment their colonel
turned down? Try peddling that to Admiral Lermontov and he'll laugh like
hell."
Swale sat down. He struggled for a moment until he was in control of his
voice. "Why are you doing this?"
Colonel Harrington shook his head slowly. "Governor, everything you said about
the service is true. We're used. They use us to bash heads so that some
senator's nephew can make a mega-credit. They hand people a raw deal and then
call on us to make the victims stay in the game. Most of the time we have to

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take it. It doesn't mean we like it much. Once in a while, just every now and
then, the Fleet gets a chance to put something right after you civilians mess
it up. We don't pass up such chances." Harrington's voice had been quiet, but
now he let it rise slightly. "Governor, just what the hell do you think men
become soldiers for? So that you can get promoted to a cushy job?"
"I have told you, I would like to help those farmers. I can't do it. Cannot
you understand? We can't pay for a long campaign. Can't. Not won't. Can't."
"Yes, sir," Colonel Harrington said. "I expect I'd better get back to
Garrison. The staff's going to have to work out a pretty strict rationing
plan."
"You think you have won," the Governor said. "Not yet, Colonel. Not yet.
Colonel Trevor, I asked you to put a battalion of militia on riverboats. How
long will it take for them to get here?"
"Be here tomorrow, sir."
"When they arrive, I want you to have made arrangements for more fuel and
supplies. We are taking that battalion to Allansport, where I will personally
direct operations. I've no doubt we can make the Protective Association see
reason. As to the rest of you, you will sit in this fort and rot for all I
care. Good afternoon, gentlemen."
* * *
I told Kathryn about the conference when I met her for supper that night. She
listened with bewilderment.
"I don't understand, Hal," she finally blurted. "All that fuss about costs.
We'd pay for the campaign and be happy to do it."
"Do you think the Governor knows that?" I asked.
"Of course he knows it. I've told him, and I've brought him offers from some
of the other farmers. Don't you remember I asked him to loan us the 501st?"
"Sure, but you weren't serious."
"I wasn't then, but it sounded like such a good idea that later on we really
tried to hire you. He wasn't interested."
"Wasn't interested in what?" Louis Bonneyman asked. "Is this an intimate
conversation, or may I join you?"
"Please do," Kathryn said. "We're just finishing—"
"I've had my dinner, also," Louis said. "But I'll buy you a drink. Hal, did
you ever think old Harrington had that kind of guts?"
"No. Surprised me. So what happens next?"
"Beats me," Louis said. "But I'll give you a hint. I just finished helping
Sergeant Major cut orders putting this whole outfit on full field alert as of
reveille tomorrow."
"Figures. I wonder just how much trouble His Excellency will get himself
into."
Louis grinned. "With any luck, he'll get himself killed and Colonel Harrington
becomes Acting Governor. Then we can really clean house."
"You can't wish that on Irina's father," Kathryn protested. "I thought you
liked her, Louis."
"Her, yes. Her old man I can live without. I'd have thought you'd share the
sentiment."
"He was kind enough to let me live in his home," Kathryn said. "I don't
understand him at all. He seems like a good man. It's only when—"
"When he puts on his Governor's hat," I said. "I keep wondering if we blew it,
Kathryn. If we'd taken the Governor up on his offer, we could at least have
gotten down there to do something. I might even have caught the bastard
that—You know who I mean."
"I'm glad you didn't, Hal. It would have been horrible. Anything you did to
those gangsters they'd take out on my friends as soon as you'd left. I
wouldn't have helped you, and I don't think anyone else would, because anybody
that did would be signing death warrants for his whole family, and all his
friends, too."
"Sounds like a rough gang," Louis said. "Thorough. If you're going to use
terror, go all the way. Unfortunately, it works."

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Kathryn nodded. "Yes. I've tried to explain it to Governor Swale. If he sends
an expedition there, a lot of my friends will try to help. They'll be killed
if he leaves those hoodlums in control when it's over. It would be better if
none of you ever went there."
"But the Harmony merchants don't like the prices," Louis said. "They want
their grain cheaper, and Swale's got to worry about them, too. A complaint
from the Harmony city council wouldn't look too good on his record. Somebody
at BuColonial might take it seriously."
"Politics," Kathryn said. "Why can't—"
"Be your age," Louis said. "There's politics in the CoDominium, sure, but we
still keep the peace. And it's not all that bad, anyway. Swale was appointed
by Grand Senator Bronson's people."
"An unsavory lot," I said.
"Maybe," Louis admitted. "Anyway, of course that means that Bronson's enemies
will be looking for reasons to discredit Swale. He's got to be careful. The
Harmony merchants still have friends at American Express—and AmEx hates
Bronson with a passion."
"I'd say our Governor has problems, then," I said. "From the looks of the
troops he took with him, he won't scare the Association much. The militia have
pretty uniforms, but they're all city kids. All right for holding walls and
cruising along the Jordan now that we've disarmed everybody here, but they're
unlikely to scare anybody with real combat experience."

XIV
We put the entire battalion on ready alert, but nothing happened for a week.
Colonel Harrington stayed at Fort Beersheba and joined us in the officers'
mess in the evenings. Like Falkenberg, he liked bagpipes. To my horror, so did
Kathryn. I suppose every woman has some major failing.
"What the hell is he doing?" Colonel Harrington demanded. "I'd have sworn he'd
have gotten himself into trouble by now. Maybe we've overestimated the Mission
Hills Protective Association. Why the hell did they come up with that name?
There aren't any Mission Hills on this planet, to the best of my knowledge."
"They brought the name with them, Colonel," Louis told him. "There's a
Southern California gang with that name. Been around for two or three
generations. A number of them happened to be on the same prison ship, and they
stuck together when they got there."
"How the hell did you find that out?" Harrington demanded.
"Captain Falkenberg insists that his people be thorough," Louis said. "It was
a matter of sifting through enough convicts until I found one who knew, and
then finding some corroboration."
"Well, congratulations, Louis," Harrington said. "John, you've done well with
your collection of newlies."
"Thank you, Colonel."
"Real test's coming up now, though. What the hell is happening down there?
Steward, another whiskey, all around. If we can't fight, we can still drink."
"Maybe Governor Swale will come to terms with them," I said.
The colonel gave me a sour look. "Doubt it, Hal. He's between a rock and a
hard place. The merchants won't stand for the prices those goons want, and
they think they've got him by the balls. They're not afraid of us, you know.
They've got a good idea of what's going on in Harmony. They know damned well
that Fleet isn't sending any more support to Arrarat, and what the hell can a
thousand men do? Even a thousand Line Marines?"
"I hope they think that way," Deane said. "If they'll stand and fight, they're
finished—"
"But they won't," John Falkenberg said. "They're no fools. They won't stand
and fight, they'll run like hell as soon as we get close to them. They've only
to sit up in the hills and avoid us. Eventually we'll have to leave, but they
won't."
Harrington nodded. "Yeah. In the long run those poor damned farmers will have
to cut it for themselves. Maybe they'll make it. At least we can try to set

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things right for them. John, do you think the pipers have had their drink by
now?"
"I'm certain of it, Colonel. Lazar! Have Pipe Major bring us a tune!"
* * *
Eight days after the Governor left Fort Beersheba, we still had no word. That
night there was the usual drinking with the pipers in the mess. I excused
myself early and went up to my rooms with Kathryn. I still couldn't touch her
without setting her to trembling, but we were working on it. I'd decided I was
in love with her, and I could wait for the physical aspects to develop. I
didn't dare think very far ahead. We had no real future that I could see, but
for the moment just being together was enough. It wasn't a situation either of
us enjoyed, but we hated to be separated.
The phone buzzed. "Slater," I told it.
"Sergeant Major Ogilvie, sir. You're wanted in the staff room immediately."
"Hallelujah. Be right there, Sergeant Major." As I hung up, Brady's trumpet
sounded "On Full Kits." I turned to Kathryn. We were both grinning like
idiots. "This is it, sweetheart."
"Yes. Now that it's happened, I'm scared."
"So am I. As Falkenberg says, we're all scared, but it's an officer's job not
to show it. Be back when I can—"
"Just a second." She came to me and put her hands on my shoulders. Her arms
went around me, and she pulled me against herself. "See? I'm hardly shaking at
all." She kissed me, quickly, then a long, lingering kiss.
"This is one hell of a time for a miraculous psychiatric cure," I said.
"Shut up and get out of here."
"Aye, aye, ma'am." I went out quickly.
Hartz was in the hallway. "I will have our gear ready, zur," he said. "And now
we fight."
"I hope so."
As I walked across the parade ground, I wondered why I felt so good. We were
about to go kill and maim a lot of people, and give them the chance to do it
to us. For a million reasons we ought to have been afraid, and we ought to
dread what was coming, but we didn't.
Is it that what we think we ought to do is so thoroughly alien to what we
really feel? I couldn't kid myself that this time was different because our
cause was just. We say we love peace, but it doesn't excite us. Even pacifists
talk more about the horrors of war than about the glories of peace.
And you're not supposed to solve the problems of the universe, I told myself.
But you do get to kill the man that raped your girl.
The others were already in the conference room, with Colonel Harrington at the
head of the table.
"The expected has happened," Harrington said. I knew for a fact that he'd
drunk four double whiskeys since supper, but there wasn't a trace of it in his
speech. I'd swallowed two quick-sober pills on the way over. I really hadn't
needed them. I was sure they hadn't had time to dissolve, but I felt fine.
"Our Governor has managed to get himself besieged in Allansport," Harrington
said. "With half of his force outside the town. He wants us to bail him out. I
have told him we will march immediately—for a price."
"Then he's agreed to withdraw recognition of the Association?" Deane asked.
"Agreed to, yes. He hasn't done it yet. I think he's afraid that the instant
he does, they will get really nasty. However, I have his word on it, and I
will hold him to it. Captain Falkenberg, the 501st is hereby ordered to drive
the Mission Hills Protective Association out of the Allan River Valley by
whatever means you think best. You may cooperate with local partisan forces in
the area and make reasonable agreements with them. The entire valley is to be
placed under CoDominium protection."
"Aye, aye, sir." Falkenberg's detached calm broke for a moment and he let a
note of triumph get into his voice.
"Now, Captain, if you will be kind enough to review your battle plan,"
Harrington said.

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"Sir." Falkenberg used the console to project a map onto the briefing screen.
I'd already memorized the area, but I examined it again. About ten kilometers
upriver from Beersheba, the Jordan was joined by a tributary known as the
Allan River. The Allan runs southwest through forest lands for about fifty
kilometers, then turns and widens in a valley that lies almost due
north-south. The east side of the Allan Valley is narrow, because no more than
twenty klicks from the river there's a high mountain range and east of that is
high desert. Nobody lives there and nobody would want to. The west side,
though, is some of the most fertile land on Arrarat. The valley is irregularly
shaped, narrowing to no more than twenty-five klicks wide in places, but
opening out to more than one hundred klicks in others. It reminded me of the
San Joaquin Valley of California, a big fertile bowl with rugged mountains on
both sides of it.
Allansport is 125 klicks upriver from where the Allan runs into the Jordan.
Falkenberg left the big valley map on one screen and projected a detail onto
the other. He fiddled with the console to bring red and green lines
representing friendly and hostile forces onto the map.
"As you can see, Governor Swale and one company of militia have taken a
defensive position in Allansport," Falkenberg said. "The other two militia
companies are south of him, actually upriver. How the devil he ever got
himself into such a stupid situation, I cannot say."
"Natural talent," Colonel Harrington muttered.
"No doubt," Falkenberg said. "We have two objectives. The minor, but most
urgent, is to rescue Governor Swale. The major objective is pacification of
the area. It seems very unlikely that we can accomplish that without a general
uprising of the locals in our favor. Agreed?"
We were all silent for a moment. "Mr. Bonneyman, I believe you're the junior,"
Colonel Harrington said.
"Agreed, sir," Louis said.
Deane and I spoke at once. "Agreed."
"Excellent. I remind you that this conference is recorded," Falkenberg said.
Of course, I thought. All staff conferences are. It didn't seem like
Falkenberg and Harrington to spread responsibility around by getting our
opinions on record, but I was sure they had their reasons.
"The best way to stimulate a general uprising would be to inflict an immediate
and major defeat on the Protective Association," Falkenberg said. "A defeat,
not merely driving them away, but bringing them to battle and eliminating a
large number of them. It is my view that this is sufficiently important to
justify considerable risks. Is that agreed to?"
Aha! I thought. Starting with Louis, we all stated our agreements.
"Then we can proceed to the battle plan," Falkenberg said. "It is complex, but
I think it is worth a try. You will notice that there is a pass into the hills
west of Allensport. Our informants tell us that this is the route the
Association forces will take if they are forced to retreat. Furthermore, there
is a sizable militia force south of Allansport. If the militia were
strengthened with local partisans, and if we can take the pass before the
besieging hostiles realize their danger, we will have them trapped. The main
body of the battalion will march upriver, approach from the north, and engage
them. We won't get them all, but we should be able to eliminate quite a lot of
them. With that kind of victory behind us, persuading the other ranchers to
rise up and join us should not be difficult."
As he talked he illustrated the battle plan with lights on the map. He was
right. It was complex.
"Questions?" Falkenberg asked.
"Sir," I said, "I don't believe those two militia companies can take the pass.
I certainly wouldn't count on it."
"They can't," Harrington said. "But they're pretty steady on defense. Give 'em
a strong position to hold and those lads will give a good account of
themselves."
"Yes," Falkenberg said. "I propose to stiffen the militia outside the city

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with two sections of Marines. We still have our Skyhooks, and I see no reason
why we can't use them again."
"Here we go again," I muttered. "Even so, sir, it all depends on how strongly
that pass is held, and we don't know that. Or do we?"
"Only that it will be defended," Falkenberg said. "The attack on the pass will
have to be in the nature of a probe, ready to be withdrawn if the opposition
is too stiff."
"I see." I thought about that for a while. I'd never done anything like that,
of course. I might have a military medal, but I couldn't kid myself about my
combat experience. "I think I can manage that, sir," I said.
Falkenberg gave me his half grin, the expression he used when he was springing
one of his surprises. "I'm afraid you won't have all the fun this time, Mr.
Slater. I intend to lead the Skyhook force myself. You'll have command of the
main body."
* * *
There was more to his plan, including a part I didn't like at all. He was
taking Kathryn with him on the Skyhook. I couldn't really object. She'd
already volunteered. Falkenberg had called her in my rooms while I was on the
way over to the conference.
"I really have little choice," Falkenberg said. "We must have someone reliable
who is known to the locals. The whole plan depends on getting enough local
assistance to seal off the valley to the south of Allansport. Otherwise,
there's no point to it."
I had to agree. I didn't have to like it. I could imagine what she'd say if I
tried to stop her.
Falkenberg finished with the briefing. "Any more questions? No? Then once
again I'll ask for your opinions."
"Looks all right to me," Louis said. Of course he would. He was going with
Falkenberg in the Skyhooks.
"No problem with heavy weapons," Deane said. "I like it."
"Mr. Slater?"
"My operation looks straightforward enough. No problems."
"It's straightforward," Colonel Harrington said, "but not trivial. You've got
the trickiest part of the job. You have to seal off the northern escape route,
engage the enemy, rescue the Governor, and then swing around like a hammer to
smash the hostiles against the anvil Captain Falkenberg will erect at the
passes. The timing is critical."
"I have confidence in Lieutenant Slater," Falkenberg said.
"So have I, or I wouldn't approve this plan," Harrington said. "But don't
ignore what we're doing here. In order to carry out the major objective of
clearing the hostiles from the whole valley, we're leaving Governor Swale in a
rather delicate situation. If something goes wrong, Sector will have our
heads—with justice, I might add." He stood, and we all got to our feet. "But I
like it. No doubt the Association thinks we'll be rushing directly to the
Governor's aid, and their people are prepared for that. I hate to be obvious."
"So do I," Falkenberg said.
Harrington nodded curtly. "Gentlemen, you have your orders."
* * *
The riverboats looked like something out of the American Civil War as they
puffed their way down the dark river. We'd had a rainstorm when we left the
fort, but now the sky was clear and dark, with bright stars overhead. My
rivercraft were really nothing more than barges with steam engines and enough
superstructure to get cargo under cover. They were made of wood, of course;
there wasn't enough of a metal industry on Arrarat to build steel hulls, and
not much reason to want to.
I had three barges, each about fifty meters long and twenty wide, big
rectangular floating platforms with cabins whose roofs served as raised decks,
and a central bridge to control them. Every centimeter of available space was
covered with troops, mules, guns, supply wagons, ammunition, tentage, and
rations. The 501st was going to the Allan Valley to stay.

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The barges burned wood, which we had to stop and cut with chain saws. In
addition, I had one amphibious hovercraft with light armor. It could make
fifty-five kilometers an hour compared to the eleven kilometers an hour the
barges got under full steam. Perched on top of the third barge was Number
Three helicopter, which could make a couple of hundred kilometers an hour. The
discrepancies in speeds would have been amusing if they weren't so
frustrating.
"One goddamned DC-45," Deane said. "One. That's all, one Starlifter, and we
could be there in an hour."
"We make do with what we got," I told him. "Besides, think how romantic it all
is. Pity we don't have a leadsman up in the bows singing out the river depth,
instead of a sonar depth finder."
The hovercraft ran interference to be sure there weren't any nasty surprises
waiting for us. As we got closer to Allansport, I sent up the chopper to make
a high-altitude survey of the landing area. We were landing a good twenty
klicks downriver from Allansport. Not only were the banks a lot steeper
farther upriver, but we didn't want to scare the Association off by landing
too close. Governor Swale was screaming at me hourly, of course. He wanted us
in Allansport right now. When I told him where we were putting ashore, he was
almost hysterical.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "All you have to do is show up!
They won't stand and fight you. This is all a political maneuver. Put heavy
pressure on them and they'll come to terms."
I didn't point out that we didn't intend to come to terms with the
Association. "Sir, Colonel Harrington approved the battle plan."
"I don't care if God the Father approved it!" Swale shouted. "What are you
doing? I know Falkenberg is south of here with troops he brought in by
helicopter, but he won't tell me what he's doing! And now he's withdrawn the
militia! I'm trapped in here, and you're playing some kind of game! I demand
to know what you intend!"
"Governor, I don't know myself," I said. "I just know what my orders are.
We'll have you out of there in a few hours. Out." I switched off the set and
turned to Deane.
"Well," I said, "we know Louis and Falkenberg are doing something down south
of us. Wish I knew how they're making out."
"If there's something we need to know, they'll tell us," Deane said. "Worried
about Kathryn?"
"Some."
"Never get so attached to anyone that you worry about her. Saves a lot of
skull sweat."
"Yeah, sure. Helmsman, that looks like our landing area. Look sharp."
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Hartz, get me the chopper pilot."
"Zur." Hartz fiddled with the radio for a moment, then handed me the mike.
"Sergeant Stragoff, sir."
"Stragoff, I want you to make a complete sweep of our landing area. There
should be two unarmed people there to meet us. They'll show you a blue light.
If they show any other color, spray the whole area and get the hell out of
there. If they show blue, tell me about it, but I still want a complete
survey."
"Aye, aye, sir."
"And just who is meeting us?" Deane asked.
"Don't know their names," I said. "Falkenberg said he'd try to set up a
welcoming committee of local resistance types. If we're satisfied with them,
we help 'em arm some of their neighbors. That's why we brought those extra
rifles."
The radio came to life again. "Two people with a blue light, sir. Nothing else
on radar or IR."
"Good. Okay, now make a wider sweep. I don't want to find out there's an
artillery battery registered on our landing area."

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"Sir."
"Sergeant Major," I said.
"Sir."
"You can take the hovercraft in to occupy the landing area. Treat the
welcoming committee politely, but keep an eye on them. When the area's secure,
we'll all go ashore."
"Sir."
I looked up at the stars. There was no moon. About five hours to dawn. With
any luck we'd be deployed and ready for combat by first light. "Okay, Deane,
you're in charge," I said. "Hartz, you stay with him."
"If the lieutenant orders it."
"Damn it, I did order it. Belay that. All right, come with me."
We went to the deck level. The river was less than a meter below us. It wasn't
a river to swim in; there are aquatic snakes on Arrarat, and their poison will
finish off anything that has protein in it. It acts as a catalyst to coagulate
cell bodies. I had no real desire to be a hard rubber lump.
We had one canoe on board. I'd already found troopers who knew something about
handling them. We had a dozen men familiar with the screwy watercraft, which
didn't surprise me. The story is that you can find any skill in a Line Marine
regiment, and it seems to be true. In my own company I had two master masons,
an artist, a couple of electronic techs (possibly engineers, but they weren't
saying), at least one disbarred lawyer, a drunken psychiatrist, and a chap the
men claimed was a defrocked preacher.
Corporal Anuraro showed me how to get into the canoe without swamping it. We
don't have those things in Arizona. As they paddled me ashore, I thought about
how silly the situation was. I was being paddled in a canoe, a device invented
at least ten thousand years ago. I was carrying a pair of light-amplifying
field glasses based on a principle not discovered until after I was born.
Behind me was a steamboat that might have been moving up the Missouri River at
the time of Custer's last stand, and I got to this planet in a starship.
The current was swift, and I was glad to have experienced men at the paddles.
The water flowed smoothly alongside. Sometimes an unseen creature made riffles
in it. Over on the shore the hovercraft had already landed, and someone was
signaling us with a light. When we got to the bank I was glad to be on dry
land.
"Where are our visitors, Roszak?" I asked.
"Over here, sir."
Two men, both ranchers or farmers. One was Oriental. They looked to be about
fifty years old. As agreed, they weren't armed.
"I'm Lieutenant Slater," I said.
The Oriental answered. "I am Wan Loo. This is Harry Seeton."
"I've heard of you. Kathryn says you helped her, once."
"Yes. To escape from a cage," Wan Loo said.
"You're supposed to prove something," I said.
Wan Loo smiled softly. "You have a scar on your left arm. It is shaped like a
scimitar. When you were a boy you had a favorite horse named Candybar."
"You've seen Kathryn," I said. "Where is she?"
"South of Allansport. She is trying to raise a force of ranchers to reinforce
Captain Falkenberg. We were sent here to assist you."
"We've done pretty well," Harry Seeton added. "A lot of ranchers will fight if
you can furnish weapons. But there's something else."
"Yes?"
"Please do not think we are not grateful," Wan Loo said. "But you must
understand. We have fought for years, and we cannot fight any longer. We have
an uneasy peace in this valley. It is the peace of submission, and we do not
care for it, but we will not throw it away simply to help you. If you have not
come to stay, please take your soldiers, rescue your Governor, and go away
without involving us."
"That's blunt enough," I said.
"We have to be blunt," Harry Seeton said. "Wan Loo isn't talking for us. We're

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outlaws, anyway. We're with you no matter what happens. But we can't go ask
our friends to join if you people don't mean it when you say you'll stay and
protect them."
"It is an old story," Wan Loo said. "You cannot blame the farmers. They would
rather have you than the Association, but if you are here only for a little
while, and the Association is here forever, what can they do? My ancestors
were faced with the same problem on Earth. They chose to support the West, and
when the Americans, who had little stake in the war, withdrew their forces, my
great-grandfather gave up land his family had held for a thousand years to go
with them. He had no choice. Do you think he would have chosen the American
side if he had known that would happen?"
"The CoDominium has extended protection to this valley," I said.
"Governments have no honor," Wan Loo said. "Many people have none, either, but
at least it is possible for a man to have honor. It is not possible for a
government. Do you pledge that you will not abandon our friends if we arouse
them for you?"
"Yes."
"Then we have your word. Kathryn says you are an honorable man. If you will
help us with transportation and radio, by noon tomorrow I believe we will have
five hundred people to assist you."
"And God help 'em if we lose," Seeton said. "God help 'em."
"We won't lose," I said.
"A battle is not a war," Wan Loo said. "And wars are not won by weapons, but
by the will to win them. We will go now."

XV
It is a basic military maxim that no battle plan ever survives contact with
the enemy, but by noon it looked as if this operation would be an exception.
Falkenberg's combat team—two platoons of B Company, brought down by Skyhook
after we were aboard our barges—struck at the passes just before dawn and in
three hours of sharp fighting had taken them over. He brought up two companies
of militia to dig in and hold them.
Meanwhile, the ranchers in the south were armed and turned out on command to
block any southward retreat. I had only scattered reports from that sector,
but all seemed under control. Kathryn had raised a force of nearly five
hundred, which ought to be enough to hold the southern defensive line.
Then it was my turn. Two hours after dawn I had a skirmish line stretching
eight kilometers into the valley. My left flank was anchored on the river.
There'd be no problem there. The right flank was a different story.
"It bothers me," I told Falkenberg when I reported by radio. "My right flank
is hanging in thin air. The only thing protecting us is Wan Loo's ranchers,
and there's no more than three hundred of them—if that many." Wan Loo hadn't
been as successful as Kathryn had been. Of course, he'd had a lot less time.
"And just what do you expect to hit you in the flank?" Falkenberg asked.
"I don't know. I just don't like it when we have to depend on other people—and
on the enemy doing what we want them to do."
"Neither do I, but do you have an alternative to suggest?"
"No, sir."
"Then carry out your orders, Mr. Slater. Advance on Allansport."
"Aye, aye, sir."
* * *
It wasn't an easy battle line to control. I had units strung all across the
valley, with the major strength on the left wing that advanced along the
river. The terrain was open, gently rolling hills with lines of hedges and
eucalyptus trees planted as windbreaks. The fields were recently harvested,
and swine had been turned loose in the wheat stubble. The fields were muddy,
but spread as we were, we didn't churn them up much.
The farmhouses were scattered at wide intervals. These had been huge farm
holdings. The smallest were over a kilometer square, and some were much
larger. A lot of the land was unworked. The houses were stone and earth,

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partly underground, built like miniature fortresses. Some had sections of wall
blown out by explosives.
Harry Seeton was with me in my ground-effects caravan. When we came to a
farmhouse, he'd try to persuade the owner and his children and relatives to
join us. If they agreed, he'd send them off to join the growing number on our
right wing.
"Something bothers me," I told Seeton. "Sure, you have big families and
everybody works, but how did you cultivate all this land? That last place was
at least five hundred hectares."
"Rainfall here's tricky," Seeton said. "Half the time we've got swamp, and the
other half we have drought. The only fertilizer is manure. We've got to leave
a lot of the land fallow, or planted in legumes to be plowed under."
"It still seems like a lot of work for just one family."
"Well, we had hired help. Convicts, mostly. Ungrateful bastards joined the
Association gangs first chance they got. Tell me something, Lieutenant."
"Yes?"
"Are your men afraid they'll starve to death? I never saw anything like it,
the way they pick up anything they can find." He pointed to one B Company
trooper who was just ahead of us. He wasn't a large man to begin with, and he
had his pockets stuffed with at least three chickens, several ears of corn,
and a bottle he'd liberated somewhere. There were bulges in his pack that
couldn't have come from regulation equipment, and he'd even strapped firewood
on top of it so that we couldn't see his helmet from behind him. "They're like
a plague of locusts," Seeton said.
"Not much I can do about it," I said. "I can't be everywhere, and the Line
Marines figure anything that's not actually penned up and watched is fair
game. They'll eat well for a few days—it beats monkey and greasy rice." I
didn't add that if he thought things were bad now, with the troops on the way
to a battle, he'd really be horrified after the troops had been in the field a
few weeks.
There were shots from ahead. "It's started," I said. "How many of these farm
areas are still inhabited by your people?"
"Not many, this close to Allansport. The town itself is almost all Association
people. Or goddamned collaborators, which is the same thing. I expect that's
why they haven't blasted it down. They outnumber your Governor's escort by
quite a lot."
"Yeah." That bothered me. Why hadn't the Association forces simply walked in
and taken Governor Swale? As Seeton said, Swale had only a couple of companies
of militia with him, yet the siege had been a stalemate. As if they hadn't
really wanted to capture him.
Of course, they had problems no matter what they did. If they killed the
Governor, Colonel Harrington would be in control. I had to assume the
Protective Association had friends in Harmony, possibly even inside the
palace. Certainly there were plenty of leaks. They'd know that Harrington was
a tougher nut than Swale.
The resistance was stronger as we approached Allansport. The Association
forces were far better armed than we'd expected them to be. They had mortars
and light artillery, and plenty of ammunition for both.
We had two close calls with the helicopters. I'd sent them forward as gunships
to support the advancing infantry. We found out the Association had
target-seeking missiles, and the only reason they didn't get the choppers was
that their gunners were too eager. They fired while the helicopters still had
time to maneuver. I pulled the choppers back to headquarters. I could use them
for reconnaissance, but I wasn't going to risk them in combat.
We silenced their artillery batteries one by one. They had plenty of guns, but
their electronics were ineffective. Their counterbattery fire was pathetic.
We'd have a couple of exchanges, our radars would backtrack their guns, and
that would be the end of it.
"Where the hell did they get all that stuff?" I asked Seeton.
"They've always had a lot of equipment. Since the first time they came out of

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the hills, they've been pretty well armed. Lately it's gotten a lot worse. One
reason we gave up."
"It had to come from off-planet," I said. "How?"
"I don't know. Ask your governor."
"I intend to. That stuff had to come through the spaceport. Somebody's getting
rich selling guns to the Protective Association."
We moved up to the outer fringes of Allensport. The town was spread across low
hills next to the river. It had a protective wall made of brick and adobe,
like the houses. Deane's artillery tore huge gaps in the wall and the troops
moved into the streets beyond. The fighting was fierce. Seeton was right about
the sentiments of the townspeople. They fought from house to house, and the
Marines had to move cautiously, with plenty of artillery support. We were
flattening the town as we moved into it.
Governor Swale and two companies of Harmony militia were dug in on the bluffs
overlooking the river, very nearly in the center of the semicircular town.
They held the riverfront almost to the steel bridge that crossed the Allan.
I'd hoped to reach the Governor by dark, but the fighting in the town was too
severe. At dusk I called to report that I wouldn't reach him for another day.
"However, we're within artillery range of your position," I told him. "We can
give you fire support if there's any serious attempt to take your position by
storm."
"Yes. You've done well," he told me.
That was a surprise. I'd expected him to read me off for not getting there
sooner. Live and learn, I told myself. "I'm bringing the right flank around in
an envelopment," I told Swale. "By morning we'll have every one of them penned
in Allansport, and we can deal with them at our leisure."
"Excellent," Swale said. "My militia officers tell me the Association forces
have very little strength in the southern part of the town. You may be able to
take many of the streets during the night."
We halted at dark. I sent Ardwain forward with orders to take A Company around
the edges of the town and occupy sections at the southern end. Then I had
supper with the troops. As Seeton had noticed, they'd provisioned themselves
pretty well. No monkey and rice tonight! We had roast chicken and fresh corn.
After dark I went back to my map table. I'd parked the caravan next to a stone
farmhouse two klicks from the outskirts of Allansport. Headquarters platoon
set up the C. P., and there were a million details to attend to: supply, field
hospitals, plans to evacuate wounded by helicopter, shuffling ammunition
around to make sure each unit had enough of the right kind. The computers
could handle a lot of it, but there were decisions to be made and no one to
make them but me. Finally I had time to set up our positions into the map
table computer and make new plans. By feeding the computer the proper inputs,
it would show the units on the map, fight battles and display the probable
outcomes, move units around under fire and subtract our casualties. . . .
It reminded me of the afternoon's battles. There'd been fighting going on, but
I'd seen almost none of it. Just more lines on the map table, and later the
bloody survivors brought back to the field hospital. Tri-V war, none of it
real. The observation satellite had made a pass over the Allan Valley just
before dark, and the new pictures were relayed from Garrison. They weren't
very clear. There'd been low clouds, enough to cut down the resolution and
leave big gaps in my data about the Association forces.
"Number One chopper's coming in, sir," Sergeant Jaski reported. He was a
headquarters platoon communications expert, an elderly wizened chap who ran
the electronics section with smiles and affection until something went wrong.
Then he could be as rough as any NCO in the Fleet.
Number One was Falkenberg's. I wasn't surprised when the captain came in a few
minutes later. He'd said he might join the main body if things were quiet up
at the pass. I got up from the map table to give him the command seat. It
hadn't fit me too well, anyway; I was glad to have someone else take charge.
"Just going over the satellite pix," I told him.
"One reason I came by. Things are going well. When that happens I wonder what

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I've overlooked." He keyed the map table to give him the current positions of
our troops. "Ardwain having any problem with the envelopment?" he asked.
"No, sir."
He grunted and played with the console keys. Then he stared at the satellite
pictures. "Mr. Slater, why haven't the Association troops taken the riverbank
areas behind the Governor?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Any why didn't His Excellency withdraw by water? He could certainly have
gotten out, himself and a few men."
"Didn't want to abandon the militia, sir?"
"Possibly."
I looked at the time. Two hours after dark. The troops were well dug in along
the perimeter, except for Ardwain's mobile force moving toward the southern
edge of the town.
Falkenberg went through the day's reports and looked up, frowning. "Mr.
Slater, why do I have the impression that there's something phony about this
whole situation?"
"In what way, sir?"
"It's been too easy. We've been told the Association is a tough outfit, but so
far the only opposition has been some infantry screens that withdrew before
you made real contact, and the first actual hard fighting was when you reached
the town."
"There were the artillery duels, sir."
"Yes. All won by a few exchanges of fire. Doesn't that seem strange?"
"No, sir." I had good reason to know that Deane's lads could do some great
shooting. After the support they gave me at the roadblock below Beersheba, I
was ready to believe they could do anything. "I hadn't thought about it, sir,
but now that you ask—well, it was easy. A couple of exchanges and their guns
are quiet."
Falkenberg was nodding. "Knocked out, or merely taken out of action? Looking
at this map, I'd say you aren't ready for the second alternative."
"I—"
"You've done well, Lieutenant. It's my nasty suspicious mind. I don't like
surprises. Furthermore, why hasn't the Governor asked to be evacuated by
water? Why is he sitting there in Allansport?"
"Sir—"
He wouldn't let me finish. "I presume you've reported your positions and plans
to the Governor?"
"Certainly, sir."
"And we took the pass with very little effort. Next to no casualties. Yet the
Association is certainly aware that we hold it. Why haven't their town forces
done something? Run, storm the bluffs and take the Governor for a
hostage—something!" He straightened in decision. "Sergeant Major!"
"Sir!"
"I want a message taken to Centurion Ardwain. I don't want any possibility of
it being intercepted."
"Sir."
"He's to hold up on the envelopment. Send a couple of patrols forward to dig
in where they can observe, but keep our forces out of Allansport. He can move
around out there and make a lot of noise. I want them to think we've continued
the envelopment, but, in fact, Ardwain is to take his troops northwest and dig
in no closer than two klicks to the town. They're to do that as quietly and
invisibly as possible."
"Yes, sir." Ogilvie went out.
"Insurance, Mr. Slater," Falkenberg said. "Insurance. We didn't need your
envelopment."
"Yes, sir."
"Confused, Mister?"
"Yes, sir."
"Just preserving options, Lieutenant. I don't like to commit my forces until

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I'm certain of my objectives."
"But the objective is to trap the Association forces and neutralize them," I
said. "The envelopment would have done that. We wouldn't have to trust to the
ranchers to keep them from escaping to the south."
"I understood that, Lieutenant. Now, if you'll excuse me, we've both got work
to do."
"Yes, sir." I left the caravan to find another place to work. There was plenty
to do. I set up shop in one of the farmhouse rooms and went back to shuffling
papers. About an hour later Deane Knowles came in.
"I got the change of orders," he said. "What's up?"
"Damfino. Have a seat? Coffee's over there."
"I'll have some, thanks." He poured himself a cup and sat across from me. The
room had a big wooden table, rough-hewn from a single tree. That table would
have been worth a fortune on Earth. Except for a few protected redwoods, I
doubted there was a tree that size in the United States.
"Don't you think I ought to know what's going on?" Deane asked. His voice was
friendly, but there was a touch of sarcasm in it.
"Bug Falkenberg if you really want answers," I said. "He doesn't tell me
anything, either. All I know is he's sent A Company out into the boonies, and
when I asked him to let me join my company, he said I was needed here."
"Tell me about it," Deane said.
I described what had happened.
Deane blew on the hot coffee, then took a sip. "You're telling me that
Falkenberg thinks we've put our heads in a trap."
"Yes. What do you think?"
"Good point about the artillery. I thought things were going too well myself.
Let's adopt his theory and see where it leads."
"You do understand there's only one person who could have set this theoretical
trap," I said.
"Yes."
"What possible motive could he have?" I demanded.
Deane shrugged. "Even so, let's see where it leads. We assume for the purposes
of discussion that Governor Hugo Swale has entered into a conspiracy with a
criminal gang to inflict anything from a defeat to a disaster on the 501st—"
"And you see how silly it sounds," I said. "Too silly to discuss."
"Assume it," Deane insisted. "That means that the Protective Association is
fully aware of our positions and our plans. What could they do with that
information?"
"That's why it's so stupid," I said. "So what if they know where we are? If
they come out and fight, they'll still get a licking. They can't possibly
expect to grind up professional troops! They may be great against ranchers and
women and children, but this is a battalion of Line Marines."
"A provisional battalion."
"Same thing."
"Is it? Be realistic, Hal. We've had one campaign, a short one. Otherwise,
we're still what came here—a random assortment of troops, half of them
recruits, another quarter scraped out of guardhouses, commanded by three
newlie lieutenants and the youngest captain in the Fleet. Our colonel's a
superannuated military policeman, and we've not a quarter of the equipment a
regular line battalion carries."
"We're a match for anything a criminal gang can put in the field—"
"A well-armed criminal gang," Deane said. "Hold onto your regimental pride,
Hal. I'm not downgrading the 501st. The point is that we may know we're a
damned good outfit, but there's not much reason for anyone else to believe
it."
"They'll soon have reason to think differently."
"Maybe." Deane continued to study the maps. "Maybe."

XVI
The night was quiet. I went on patrol about midnight, not to inspect the

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guard—we could depend on the NCOs for all that—but mostly to see what it was
like out there. The troops were cheerful, looking forward to the next day's
battles. Even the recruits grinned wolfishly. They were facing a disorganized
mob, and we had artillery superiority. They'd pitched tents by maniples, and
inside each tent they'd set up their tiny field stoves so there was hot coffee
and chicken stew—and they'd found wine in some of the farmhouses. Our bivouac
had more the atmosphere of a campout than an army just before a battle.
Underneath it all was the edge that men have when they're going to fight, but
it was well hidden. You're sure it's the other guy who'll buy the farm. Never
you. Deep down you know better, but you never talk about that.
* * *
An hour before dawn every house along the southern edge of Allansport exploded
in red fire. In almost the next instant a time-on-target salvo fell just
outside the walls. The bombardment continued, sharp thunder in the night, with
red flashes barely visible through the thick mist rising up off the river. I
ran to the command caravan.
Falkenberg was already there, of course. I doubt if he'd ever gone to bed.
Sergeant Jaski had gotten communications with one of the forward patrols.
"Corporal Levine, sir. I'm dug in about five hundred meters outside the walls.
Looks like it was mines in the houses, Captain. Then they dropped a hell of a
load onto where we'd have been if we'd moved up last night."
"What's your situation, Levine?" Falkenberg demanded.
"Dug in deep, sir. They killed a couple of my squad even so. It's thick out
here, sir. Big stuff. Not just mortars."
That was obvious from the sound, even as far away as we were. No light
artillery makes that kind of booming sound.
"A moment, Captain," Levine said. There was a long silence. "Can't keep my
head up long, Captain. They're still pounding the area. I see movement in the
town. Looks like assault troops coming out the gate. The fire's lifting now.
Yeah, those are assault troops. A lot of 'em."
"Sergeant Major, put the battalion on alert for immediate advance," Falkenberg
said. "Jaski, when's the next daylight pass of the spy satellite over this
area?"
"Seventy minutes after daylight, sir."
"Thank you. Levine, you still there?"
"Yes, Captain. There's more troops moving out of Allansport. Goddamn, there's
a couple of tanks. Medium jobs. Suslov class, I'd say. I didn't know them
bastards had tanks! Where'd they get them?"
"Good question. Levine, keep your head down and stay out of sight. I want you
to stay alive."
"Won't fight over those orders, Captain."
"They're breaking out toward the south," Falkenberg said. "Jaski, get me
Lieutenant Bonneyman."
"Sir."
"While you're at it, see if you can raise Centurion Cernan at the pass."
"Aye, aye, sir." Jaski worked at the radio for a moment. "No answer from Mr.
Bonneyman, sir. Here's Cernan."
"Thank you." Falkenberg paused. "Mr. Slater, stay here for a moment. You'll
need instructions. Centurion Cernan, report."
"Not much to report, Captain. Some movement up above us."
"Above you. Hostiles coming down the pass?"
"Could be, Captain, but I don't know. I have patrols up that way, but they
haven't reported yet."
"Dig in, Cernan," Falkenberg said. "I'll try to send you some reinforcements.
You've got to hold that pass no matter which direction it's attacked from."
"Aye, aye, sir."
Falkenberg nodded. The map board was crawling with symbols and lights as
reports came in to Jaski's people and they were programmed onto the display.
"Wish I had some satellite pix," Falkenberg said. "There's only one logical
move the Association can be making at this point."

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He was talking to himself. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he thought I understood him,
but I didn't.
"In any event, we have the only sizable military force on the entire planet,"
Falkenberg said. "We can't risk its destruction."
"But we've got to relieve Bonneyman and the ranchers," I protested. I didn't
mention Kathryn. Falkenberg might think it was just a personal problem. Maybe
it was. "Those tanks are headed south, right for their lines."
"I know. Jaski, keep trying to get Bonneyman."
"Sir!"
Outside the trumpets were sounding. "On Full Kits." Brady's sang louder than
the rest.
"And we must rescue the Governor," Falkenberg said. "Indeed, we must." He came
to a decision. "Jaski, get me Mr. Wan Loo."
While Jaski used the radio, Falkenberg said, "I want you to talk to him, Mr.
Slater. He has met you and he has never met me. His first impulse will be to
rush to the aid of his friends in the south. He must not do that. His forces,
what there are of them, will be far more useful as reinforcements for
Centurion Cernan at the pass."
"Mr. Wan Loo, sir," Jaski said.
Falkenberg handed me the mike.
"I don't have time to explain," I said. "You're to take everything you've got
and move up to the pass. There are mixed Marine and militia units holding it,
and there's a chance Association forces are moving down the pass toward them.
Centurion Cernan is in command up there, and he'll need help."
"But what is happening?" Wan Loo asked.
"The Association forces in Allansport have broken loose and are heading
south," I said.
"But our friends to the south—"
Falkenberg took the mike. "This is Captain John Christian Falkenberg. We'll
assist your friends, but we can do nothing if the forces coming down the pass
are not contained. The best way you can help your friends is to see that no
fresh Association troops get into this valley."
There was a long pause. "You would not abandon us, Captain?"
"No. We won't abandon you," Falkenberg said.
"Then I have assurances from two honorable men. We will help your friends.
Captain. And go with God."
"Thank you. Out." He gave the mike back to Jaski. "Me, I'd rather have a
couple of anti-tank guns—or, better still, tanks of our own. How's Old
Beastly?"
"Still running, sir." Old Beastly was the 50lst's only tank, a relic of the
days when CD regulars had come to Arrarat. It was kept going by constant
maintenance.
"Where the devil are the Protective Association people getting fuel for
tanks?" Falkenberg said. "To hell with it. Sergeant Major, I want Centurion
Ardwain to take two platoons of A Company and Old Beastly. Their mission is to
link up with Governor Swale. They're to attack through the north end of the
town along the riverbank, and they're to move cautiously."
"Captain, that's my company," I said. "Shouldn't I go with them?"
"No. I have a number of operations to perform, and I'll need help. Don't you
trust Ardwain?"
"Of course I trust him, sir—"
"Then let him do his job. Sergeant Major, Ardwain's mission is to simulate at
least a company. He's to keep the men spread out and moving around. The longer
it takes for the enemy to tumble to how small his force is, the better. And
he's not to take chances. If they gang up on him, he can run like hell."
"Sir," Ogilvie said. He turned to a waiting runner.
"Ardwain's got a radio, sir," I said.
"Sure he has." Falkenberg's voice was conversational. "Know much about the
theory of the scrambler codes we use, Mr. Slater?"
"Well, no, sir—"

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"You know this much: in theory any message can be recorded off the air and
unscrambled with a good enough computer."
"Yes, sir. But the only computer on Arrarat that could do that is ours, in
Garrison."
"And the Governor's in the palace at Harmony," Falkenberg said. "And those two
are the ones we know about."
"Sir, you're saying that Governor—"
"No," he interrupted. "I have said nothing at all. I merely choose to be
certain that my orders are not intercepted. Jaski, where the hell is
Bonneyman?"
"Still trying to raise him, sir."
"Any word from Miss Malcolm or the other ranchers in the southern area?"
"No, sir."
More information appeared on the map board. Levine was still reporting. There
were only the two tanks, but a sizable infantry force had come out of
Allansport and was headed south along the riverbank. If Levine was right,
there'd been more troops in Allansport than we'd ever suspected.
"I have Lieutenant Bonneyman, sir."
"Thank God." Falkenberg grabbed the mike. "Mr. Bonneyman, nearly one thousand
hostiles have broken free from Allansport and are moving south. They have with
them at least two medium tanks and an appreciable artillery train. Are you
well dug in?"
"Yes, sir. We'll hold them."
"The devil, you will. Not with riflemen against that."
"We have to hold, sir," Louis said. "Miss Malcolm and an escort moved about
twenty kilometers south during the night in the hopes of raising more
reinforcements. She was not successful, but she has reports of hostile
activities south of us. At least two, possibly more, groups of Association
forces are moving north. We must hold them or they'll break through and link
up with the Allansport groups."
"One moment," Falkenberg said. "Sergeant Major, I want helicopter observation
of the area to the south of Lieutenant Bonneyman and his ranchers. Send
Stragoff. He's to stay at high altitude, but it's vital that I find out what's
coming north at us out of Denisburg. All right, Mr. Bonneyman. At the moment
you don't know what you're facing."
"No, sir, but I'm in a pretty good position. Rifle pits, and we're
strengthening the southern perimeter."
"All right. You're probably safer there than anywhere else. If you get into
trouble, your escape route is east, toward the river. I'm bringing the 501st
around the town. We'll skirt it wide to stay away from their artillery. Then
we'll cut in toward the river and stay right along the bank until we reach
your position. If necessary, our engineers can throw up a pontoon bridge and
we'll go out across the river to escape."
"Do we need to run, Captain?" Louis sounded dismayed.
"As I have explained to Mr. Slater, our prime objective is to retain the 501st
as a fighting unit. Be prepared to withdraw eastward on command, Mr.
Bonneyman. Until then, you're to hold that position no matter what happens,
and it's likely to be rough."
"Can do, Captain."
"Excellent. Now, what about Miss Malcolm?"
"I don't know where she is, sir. I can send a patrol—"
"No. You have no forces to spare. If you can get a message to her, have her
rejoin you if that's possible. Otherwise, she's on her own. You understand
your orders, Mister?"
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. Out."
"So Kathryn's expendable," I said.
"Anyone is expendable, Mister. Sergeant Major, have Stragoff listen on Miss
Malcolm's frequency. If he can locate her, he can try to evacuate her from the
southern area, but he is not to compromise the reconnaissance mission in doing

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it."
"Sir."
"You are one hard-nosed son-of-a-bitch," I said.
His voice was calm as he said, "Mister, I get paid to take responsibilities,
and at the moment I'm earning my keep. I'll overlook that remark. Once."
And if I say anything else, I'll be in arrest while my troops are fighting.
Got you. "What are my orders, sir?"
"For the moment you're to lead the forward elements of the 501st. I want the
battalion to move in column around the town, staying outside artillery range.
When you've reached a point directly southwest of Allansport, halt the lead
elements and gather up the battalion as I send it to you. I'll stay here until
this has been accomplished. I still must report to the Governor and I want the
daylight satellite pictures."
I looked at my watch. Incredibly, it was still a quarter-hour before dawn. A
lot had happened in the last forty-five minutes. When I left the caravan,
Falkenberg was playing games on the map board. More bloodless battles, with
glowing lights and wriggling lines crawling across the map at lightning speed,
simulations of hours of bloody combat and death and agony.
And what the hell are you accomplishing? I thought. The computer can't give
better results than the input data, and your intelligence about the hostiles
is plain lousy. How many Association troops are coming down the pass toward
Centurion Cernan? No data. How many more are in those converging columns
moving toward Louis and Kathryn and their ranchers? Make a guess. What are
their objectives? Another guess. Guess and guess again, and Kathryn's out
there, and instead of rescuing her, we're keeping the battalion intact. I
wanted to mutiny, to go to Kathryn with all the men I could get to follow me,
but I wasn't going to do that. I blinked back tears. We had a mission, and
Falkenberg was probably right. He was going to the aid of the ranchers, and
that's what Kathryn would want. She'd pledged her honor to those people, and
it was up to us to make that good. Maybe Stragoff will find her, I thought.
Maybe.
I went to my room and let Hartz hang equipment onto my uniform. It was time to
move out, and I was glad of something, anything, to do.

XVII
The valley was filled with a thick white mist. The fog boiled out of the river
and flowed across the valley floor. In the two hours since dawn, the 501st had
covered nine kilometers. The battalion was strung out in a long column of men
and mules and wagons on muddy tracks that had once been roads and now had
turned into sloppy gunk. The men strained at ropes to pull the guns and
ammunition wagons along, and when we found oxen or mules in the fields, we
hitched them up as well. The rainstorm that had soaked us two days before at
Beersheba had passed across the Allan Valley, and the fields were squishy
marshlands.
Out in the distance we could hear the sound of guns: Ardwain's column, the
Allansport garrison trying to get through Louis's position—or someone else a
world away. In the fog we couldn't know. The sound had no direction, and out
here there was no battle, only mud.
There were no enemies here in the valley. There weren't any friends, either.
There were only refugees, pathetic families with possessions piled on their
mules and oxen, or carried in their arms. They didn't know where they were
going, and I had no place to send them. Sometimes we passed farms, and we
could see women and children staring at us from the partly open doors or from
behind shuttered windows. Their eyes had no expression in them. The sound of
the guns over the horizon, and the curses of the men as they fought to move
our equipment through the mud; more curses as men whipped oxen we'd found and
hitched to the wagons; shrill cries from farmers protesting the loss of their
stock; everything dripping wet in white swirling fog, all blended together
into a long nightmare of outraged feelings and senselessness. I felt
completely alone, alien to all this. Where were the people we'd come to set

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free?
We reached the map point Falkenberg had designated, and the troops rested in
place while the rest of the column caught up with us. The guns were just
moving in when Falkenberg's command caravan roared up. The ground-effects
machine could move across the muddy fields with no problems, while we had to
sweat through them.
He sent for Deane Knowles and had us both come into the caravan. Then he sent
out all the NCOs and enlisted men. The three of us were alone with the map
table.
"I've held off explaining what I've been doing until the last minute," he
said. "As it is, this is for your ears only. If something happens, I want
someone to know I haven't lost my mind."
"Yes, sir," I said. Deane and I looked at each other.
"Some background," Falkenberg said. "There's been something peculiar about the
Allan Valley situation for years. The convict groups have been too well armed,
for a beginning. Governor Swale was too eager to recognize them as a
legitimate local government. I think both of you have remarked on that
before."
Deane and I looked at each other again.
"This morning's satellite pictures," Falkenberg said. "There's too much mist
to show any great details, but there are some clear patches. This strip was
taken in the area south of Mr. Bonneyman. I invite your comments."
He handed us the photos. Most were of patches of mist, with the ground below
completely invisible. Others showed patches where the mist was thin, or there
wasn't any. "Nothing at all," Deane said.
"Precisely," Falkenberg said. "Yet we have reports of troop movements in that
area. It is as if the hostiles knew when the satellite would be overhead, and
avoided clear patches."
"As well they might," Deane said. "It shouldn't be hard to work out the
ephemeris of the spy-eye."
"Correct. Now look at the high resolution enlargements of those clear areas."
We looked again. "The roads are chewed up," I said. "Mud and ruts. A lot of
people and wagons have passed over them."
"And recently, I'd say." Falkenberg nodded in satisfaction. If this had been a
test, we'd passed. "Now another datum. I have had Sergeant Jaski's people
monitoring all transmissions from Allansport. It may or may not be significant
that shortly after every communication between 501st headquarters and outlying
commands, there has been a transmission from the Governor to the palace at
Harmony—and, within half an hour, a reply. Not an immediate reply, gentlemen,
but a reply within half an hour. And shortly after that, there is traffic on
the frequencies the Association forces use."
There wasn't anything to say to that. The only explanation made no sense.
"Now, let's see what the hostiles have in mind," Falkenberg said. "They
besiege the Governor in Allansport. Our initial orders are to send a force to
relieve him. We don't know what they would have done, but instead we devised a
complex plan to trap them. We take the initial steps, and what happens? The
hostiles invite us to continue. They do nothing. Later we learn that a
considerable force, possibly the major part of their strength, is marching
northward. Their evident objective is Mr. Bonneyman's mixed group of Marines
and ranchers. I point out that the elimination of those ranchers would be
significant to the Association. They would not only be rid of potential
opposition to their rule, but I think it would in future be impossible to
persuade any significant group of ranchers to rise against them. The
Association would be the only possible government in the Allan Valley."
"Yes, sir, but why?" Deane said. "What could be . . . why would Governor Swale
cooperate with them?"
"We'll leave that for the moment, Mr. Knowles. One thing at a time. Now for
the present situation. Centurion Ardwain has done an excellent job of
simulating a large force cautiously advancing into Allansport from the north.
Governor Swale seems convinced that we've committed at least half our strength

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there. I have further informed him that we will now bring the balance of the
501st from its present position directly east to the riverbank, where we will
once again divide out troops, half going south to aid Mr. Bonneyman, the other
half moving into the town. The Governor thought that a splendid plan. Have you
an opinion, Mr. Slater?"
"It's the dumbest thing I ever heard of," I said. "Especially if he thinks
you've already divided the force! If you do that, you'll be inviting defeat in
detail."
"Precisely," Falkenberg said. "Of course Governor Swale has no military
background."
"He doesn't need one to know that plan's a bust," I said. "Lousy traitor—"
"No accusations," Falkenberg said. "We've no proof of anything. In any event,
I am making the assumption that the Association is getting decoded copies of
all my transmissions. I don't need to know how they get them. You'll remember
that whenever you use radio signals that might be overheard."
"Yes, sir." Deane looked thoughtful. "That limits our communications
somewhat."
"Yes. I hope that won't matter. Next problem. Under my assumption, the
hostiles expect me to send a force eastward toward the river. That expectation
must be met. I need Mr. Knowles to handle the artillery. It leaves you, Mr.
Slater. I want you to take a platoon and simulate two companies with it.
You'll send back a stream of reports, as if you're the main body of the
battalion reporting to me at a headquarters left safely out of the combat
zone." Falkenberg grinned slightly. "To the best of my knowledge, Irina's
opinion of me is shared by her father. He won't find it at all hard to believe
that I'm avoiding a combat area."
"But what if I really have a message?" I asked.
"You're familiar with O'Grady drill?" Falkenberg asked.
"Yes, sir." O'Grady drill is a form of torture devised by drill sergeants.
You're supposed to obey only the commands that begin with "O'Grady says:."
Then the sergeant snaps out a string of orders.
"We'll play that little game," Falkenberg said. "Now your mission is to get to
the river, make a short demonstration, as if you're about to attack the
southern edge of Allansport. and then move directly south, away from the town,
until you link up with Mr. Bonneyman. You will then aid in his defense until
you are relieved."
"But—Captain, you're assuming they know your orders."
He nodded. "Of course they'll put out an ambush. In this fog it will be a
natural thing for them to do. Since they'll assume you have a much larger
force with you, they'll probably use all the force that left Allansport this
morning. I can't think they're stupid enough to try it with less."
"And we're to walk into it," I said.
"Yes. With your eyes open, but walk into it. You're bait, Mr. Slater. Get out
there and wiggle."
I remembered an old comic strip. I quoted a line from it. "Don't much matter
whether you catch a fish or not; once you been used for bait, you ain't much
good for nothing else nohow."
"Maybe," Falkenberg said. "Maybe. But I remind you that you'll be keeping a
major column of Association forces off Mr. Bonneyman's back."
"We will so long as we survive—"
"Yes. So I'll expect you to survive as long as possible."
"Can't quarrel with those orders, Captain."
* * *
The fog was thicker when we reached the river. The troops were strung out
along almost a full kilometer route, each maniple isolated from the others in
the dripping-white blanket that lay across the valley. The troops were
enjoying themselves, with monitors reporting as if they were platoon
sergeants, and corporals playing centurion. They kept up a steady stream of
chatter on the radio, while two men back at Falkenberg's headquarters sent
orders that we paid no attention to. So far it was easy enough, because we

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hadn't run into anything at all.
"There's the city wall." Roszak pointed leftward. I could barely see a darker
shape in the fog. "We'll take a quick look over. All right, Lieutenant?"
"Yes. Be careful."
"Always am, sir. Brady, bring your squad. Let's see what's over there." They
vanished into the fog.
It seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes before Brady returned.
"Nothing, sir. Nothing and nobody, at least not close to the walls. May be a
lot of them farther in. I got a feeling."
Roszak's voice came into my command set. "Moved fifty meters in. No change
from what Brady reported."
"Did he have your feeling, Brady?" I asked.
"Yes, sir."
I switched the set back on. "Thank you, Roszak. Rejoin your company."
"Aye, aye, sir."
There were distant sounds of firing from the north. Ardwain's group was doing
a good job of simulating a company. They were still moving into the town house
by house. I wondered if he was running into opposition, or if that was all his
own doing. He was supposed to go cautiously, and his men might be shooting up
everything in sight. They were making a lot of noise. "Get me Falkenberg," I
told Hartz.
"Yes, Mr. Slater?"
"Captain, Monitor O'Grady reports the south end of the town has been
abandoned. I can hear the A Company combat team up at the north end, but I
don't know what opposition they've encountered."
"Very light, Mister. You leave a company to assist A Company just in case, and
continue south. Exactly as planned, Mr. Slater. No change. Got that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Having any trouble with the guns?"
"A little, sir. Roads are muddy. It's tough going, but we're moving."
"Excellent. Carry on, then. Out."
And that, I told myself, is that. I told off a monitor to dig in just outside
the town and continue making reports. "You've just become B Company
centurion," I said.
He grinned. "Yes, sir. Save a few of 'em for me."
"I'll do that, Yokura. Good luck." I waved the rest of my command down the
road. We were strung out in a long column. The fog was a little thinner. Now I
could see over twenty meters before the world was blotted out in swirling
white mist.
What's the safest way to walk into an ambush? I asked myself. The safest way
is not to do it. Bar that solution and you don't have a lot of choices. I used
the helmet projector to show me a map of the route.
The first test was a hill just outside of town: Hill 509, called the Rockpile,
a warren of jumbled boulders and flinty ledges. It dominated the road into the
southern gate of Allansport. Whoever owned it controlled traffic into and out
of the town.
If the Association only wanted to block us from moving south, that's where
they'd have their strong point. If they were out to ambush the whole
battalion, they'd leave it bare and set the trap farther on. Either way,
they'd never expected me to go past it without having a look.
Four kilometers past the Rockpile there was a string of low hills. The road
ran through a valley below them. It was an ideal place for an ambush. That's
where they'll be, I decided. Only they must know we'll expect them to be along
there somewhere. Bait should wiggle, but it shouldn't too obviously be bait.
How would I act if I really had most of a battalion with me?
Send a strong advance guard, of course. An advance guard about as strong as
the whole force I've got. Anything less won't make any sense.
"Roszak, start closing them up. Leave the wagons and half a dozen men with
radios strung out along the line of march, and get everyone else up here.
We'll form up as an advance guard and move south."

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"Aye, aye, sir."
When I had the troops assembled, I led them up on the Rockpile. Nothing there,
of course. I'd gauged it right. They were waiting for us up ahead.
* * *
Roszak nudged me and turned his head slightly to the right. I nodded,
carefully. "Don't point, Sergeant. I saw something move up there myself."
We had reached the hills.
"Christ, what are they waiting for?" Roszak muttered.
"For the rest of the battalion. They don't want us; they want the whole
501st."
"Yes, sir."
We moved on ahead. The fog was lifting; visibility was over fifty meters
already. It wouldn't be long before it would be obvious there weren't any
troops following me, despite the loud curses and the squeals of wagon wheels
back there. It's amazing how much noise a couple of wagons can make if the
troops work at it.
To hell with it, I thought. We've got to find a good position and try to hold
it. It'll do no good to keep walking farther into their trap. There was a
rocky area ahead. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best spot I'd seen in half
an hour. I nudged Roszak. "When we get up to there, start waving the men off
into the rocks. The fog's thicker there."
"What if there's hostiles there already?" Roszak demanded.
"Then we'll fight for the ground, but I doubt they'll be there. I expect
they've been moving out of our way as we advance. They still think there's a
column a whole klick long behind us." Sound confident, I told myself. "We'll
take up a defensive perimeter in there and wait the war out."
"Sure." Roszak moved to his right and spoke to the next man. The orders were
passed along the line.
Three more minutes, I told myself. Three minutes and we'll at least have some
cover. The area I'd chosen was a saddle, a low pass between the hills to
either side of us. Not good, but better than the road. I could feel rifles
aimed at me from the rocks above, but I saw nothing but grotesque shapes,
boulders dripping in the fog. We climbed higher, moving steadily toward the
place I'd chosen.
Maybe there's nobody up there watching at all. They may be on the other side
of the valley. You only saw one man. Maybe not even a man. Just something
moving. A wild animal. A dog. A blowing patch of fog.
Whatever it was, I can't take this much longer. You don't have to. Another
minute. That boulder up there, the big one. When you reach it, you've
finished. Don't run. Keep it slow—
"All right, you can fall out and take a break!" I shouted. "Hartz, tell the
column to rest in place. We'll take ten. Companies should close up and gather
in the stragglers. They'll assemble here after the break."
"Zur."
"Better get a perimeter guard out, Sergeant."
"Sir," Roszak called.
"Corporal Brady, how about a little coffee? You can set up the stove in the
lee of that rock."
"Right, Lieutenant."
The men vanished into the fog. There were scrambling noises as they found
hiding places. I moved out of the open and hunkered down in the rocks with
Corporal Brady. "You didn't really have to make coffee," I said.
"Why not, Lieutenant? We have a while to wait, don't we?"
"I hope so, Corporal. I hope so. But that fog's lifting fast."
* * *
Ten minutes later we heard the guns. It was difficult to tell the direction of
the sound in the thick fog, but I thought they were ahead of us, far to the
south. There was no way to estimate the range.
"O'Grady message from Captain Falkenberg," Hartz said. "Lieutenant Bonneyman's
group is under heavy attack from the south."

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"Acknowledge." From the south. That meant the columns coming north out of
Denisburg had made contact with Louis's ranchers. Falkenberg had guessed that
much right. Maybe this whole screwy plan would work, after all. "Anything new
on Ardwain's situation?"
"No messages, zur."
I thumbed my command set to the general frequency. "All units of the 501st,
there is heavy fighting to the south. Assemble immediately. We'll be moving
south to provide fire support. Get those guns rolling right now."
There was a chorus of radio answers. Only a dozen men, but they sounded like
hundreds. I'd have been convinced it was a battalion combat team. I was
congratulating myself when a shaft of sunlight broke through the mist and fell
on the ground at my feet.

XVIII
Once the sun had broken through, the fog lifted fast. In seconds visibility
went from fifty meters to a hundred, then two hundred. In minutes the road for
a kilometer north of us was visible—and empty. One wagon struggled along it,
and far back in the distance a single man carried a radio.
"O'Grady says hit the dirt!" I yelled. "Hartz, tell Falkenberg the deception's
over."
And still there was nothing. I took out my glasses and examined the rocks
above and behind us. They were boiling with activity. "Christ," I said.
"Roszak, we've run into the whole Allansport outfit. Damned near a thousand
men! Dig in and get your heads down!"
A mortar shell exploded on the road below. Then another, and then a salvo. Not
bad shooting, I said to myself. Of course it didn't hit anything, because
there was nothing to hit except the one wagon, but they had it registered
properly. If we'd been down there, we'd have had it.
Rifle bullets zinged overhead. The Association troops were firing at last. I
tried to imagine the feelings of the enemy commander, and I found myself
laughing. He'd waited patiently all this time for us to walk into his trap,
and all he'd caught was something less than a platoon. He was going to be mad.
He was also going to chew up my sixty men, two mortars, and four light machine
guns. It would take him a little time, though. I'd picked a good spot to wait
for him. Now that the fog had cleared, I saw it was a better place than I'd
guessed from the map. We had reasonably clear fields of fire, and the rocks
were large and sturdy. They'd have to come in and get us. All we had to do was
keep our heads down.
No point in deception anymore. "O'Grady says stay loose and let 'em come to
us."
There was a chorus of shouted responses. Then Brady's trumpet sounded,
beginning with "On Full Kits" and running through half the calls in the book
before he settled onto the Line Marines' March. A favorite, I thought. Damned
right. Then I heard the whistle of incoming artillery, and I dove for the tiny
shelter between my rocks as barrage after barrage of heavy artillery dropped
onto our position.
Riflemen swarmed down onto the road behind me. My radiomen and the two
wagoneers were cut down in seconds. At least a company of Association troops
started up the gentle slope toward us.
The Association commander made his first mistake then. His artillery had been
effective enough for making us keep our heads down, but the rocks gave us good
cover and we weren't taking many casualties. When the Association charged us,
their troops held back until the artillery fire lifted. It takes experienced
non-coms and a lot of discipline to get troops to take casualties from their
own artillery. It pays off, but our attackers didn't know or believe it.
They were too far away when the artillery fire lifted. My lads were out of
their hiding places in an instant. They poured fire on the advancing
troops—rifles and the light machine guns, then both mortars. Few of the enemy
had combat armor, and our fire was devastating.
"Good men," Hartz grunted. "They keep coming."

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They were, but not for long. Too many of them were cut down. They swept to
within fifty meters, wavered, and dropped back, some dragging their wounded
with them, others running for it. When the attack was broken, we dropped back
into the rocks to wait for the next barrage. "Score one for the Line Marines,"
I called.
Brady answered with the final fanfare from the March. "And there's none that
can face us—"
"They won't try that again," Roszak said. He grinned with satisfaction. "Lads
are doing right well, Mr. Slater."
"Well, indeed."
Our area was quiet, but there were sounds of heavy fighting in the south:
artillery, rifle and machine gun fire, mortars and grenades. It sounded
louder, as if it were coming closer to us. Louis and his commando of ranchers
were facing big odds. I wondered if Kathryn were with him.
"They'll try infiltration next," Roszak predicted.
"What makes you think so?" Hartz asked.
"No discipline. After what happened last time, they'll never get a full attack
going."
"No, they will have one more try in force. Perhaps two," Hartz argued.
"Never. Bet on it? Tomorrow's wine ration."
"Done," Hartz said. He was quiet for a moment, then handed me the handset.
"Captain Falkenberg."
"Thank you. Yes, Captain?"
"O'Grady says the O'Grady drill is over. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"What's your situation?"
"We're in the saddle notch of Hill 239, seven klicks south of Allansport," I
said. "Holding all right for now, but we're surrounded. Most of the hostiles
are between us and Allansport. They let us right through for the ambush.
They've tried one all-out attack and that didn't work. Roszak and Hartz are
arguing over what they'll try next."
"How long can you hold?"
"Depends on what losses they're willing to take to get us out of here."
"You don't have to hold long," Falkenberg said. "A lot has happened. Ardwain
broke through to the Governor and brought him out, but he ran into a strong
force in Allansport. There's more coming over the bridge from the east side of
the river."
"Sounds like they're bringing up everything they have."
"They are, and we're beating all of it. The column that moved north from
Denisburg ran into Bonneyman's group. They deployed to break through that, and
we circled around to their west and hit them in the flank. They didn't expect
us. Your maneuver fooled them completely. They thought the 501st was with you
until it was too late. They know better now, but we've broken them. Of course,
there's a lot more of them than of us, and we couldn't hold them. They've
broken through between Bonneyman and the river, and you're right in their
path."
"How truly good."
"I think you'd do well to get out of their way," Falkenberg said. "I doubt you
can stop them."
"If they link up with the Allansport force, they'll get away across the
bridge. I can't hold them, but if you can get some artillery support here, I
can spot for the guns. We might delay them."
"I was going to suggest that," Falkenberg said. "I've sent Ardwain and the
Governor's escort toward that hill outside Allansport—the Rockpile. It looks
like a dominant position."
"It is, sir. I've seen it. If we held that, we could keep this lot from
getting into Allansport. We might bag the whole lot."
"Worth a try, anyway," Falkenberg said. "Provided you can hold on. It will be
nearly an hour before I can get artillery support to you."
"We'll hold, sir."

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"Good luck."
Roszak lost his wine ration. They tried one more assault. Two squads of
Association troops got within twenty meters of our position before we threw
them back. Of my sixty men, I had fewer than thirty effectives when it was
over.
That was their last try, though. Shortly after, they regrouped. The elements
which had been south of us had already skirted around the hills to join the
main body, and now the whole group was moving north. They were headed for
Allansport.
The sounds of fighting to the south were coming closer all the time.
Falkenberg had Deane moving parallel to the Association troops, racing to get
close enough to give us support, but it wouldn't arrive in time.
I sent our wounded up the hill away from the road with orders to dig in and
lie low. The rest of us followed the retreating force. We were now sandwiched
between the group ahead of us and the Denisburg column behind.
The first elements of Association forces were headed up the Rockpile when
Deane came in range. He was still six kilometers southeast of us, long range
and long time of flight, but we were in a good position to spot for him. I
called in the first salvo on the advancing Association troops. The shells went
beyond their target, and before I could walk them back down the hill, the
Association forces retreated.
"They'll send another group around behind the hill," Roszak said. "We'll never
stop them."
"No." So damned near. A few minutes' difference and we'd have bagged them all.
The column Falkenberg was chasing was now no more than two kilometers south of
us and moving fast.
"Hold one," Deane said. "I've got a Corporal Dangier calling in. Claims to be
in position to spot targets for me."
"He's one of the wounded we left behind," I said. "He can see the road from
his position, all right, but he won't last long once they know we've got a
spotter in position to observe them."
"Do I fire the mission?" Deane demanded.
"Yes." Scratch Corporal Dangier, who had a girl in Harmony and a wife on
Earth.
"I'll leave one gun at your disposal," Deane said. "I'm putting the rest on
Dangier's mission."
A few minutes later we heard the artillery falling on the road behind us. That
would play hell with the Association retreat. It kept up for ten minutes; then
Deane called in again. "Can't raise Dangier any longer."
"No. There's nothing we can do here. They're staying out of sight. I'll call
in some fire in places that might do some good, but it's shooting blind."
I amused myself with that for a while. It was frustrating. Once that force got
to the top of the Rockpile, the route into Allansport would be secure. I was
still cursing when Hartz shouted urgently.
"Centurion Ardwain on the line, sir."
"Ardwain, where are you?"
"Less than a klick west of you, Lieutenant. We moved around the edge of the
town. Can't get inside without support. Militia won't try it, anyway."
"How many Marines do you have?" I demanded.
"About eighty effective. And Old Beastly."
"By God! Ardwain, move in fast. We'll join you as you come by. We're going
right up to the top of the Rockpile and sit there until Falkenberg gets here.
With Deane's artillery support we can hold that hill."
"Aye, aye, sir. We're coming."
"Let's go!" I shouted. "Who's been hit and can't run?"
No one answered. "Sergeant Roszak took one in the leg an hour ago,
Lieutenant," Hartz said.
"I can still travel," Roszak said.
"Bullshit. You'll stay here and spot artillery for us. All the walking wounded
stay with him. The rest of you get moving. We want to be in position when

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Centurion Ardwain comes."
"But—"
"Shut up and soldier, Roszak." I waved and we moved down from our low hilltop.
We were panting when we got to the base of the Rockpile. There were already
Association forces up there. I didn't know how many. We had to get up there
before more joined them. The way up just ahead of me was clear, because it was
in direct view of Roszak and his artillery spotters. We could use it and they
couldn't.
I waved the men forward. Even a dozen of us on top of the Rockpile might be
enough if Ardwain came up fast. We started up. Two men went down, then
another, and my troops began to look around for shelter. I couldn't blame
them, but I couldn't let them do it. Getting up that hill had become the only
thing in my life. I had to get them moving again.
"Brady!" I shouted. "Corporal, sound the charge!"
The trumpet notes sang out. A monitor whipped out a banner and waved it above
his head. I shouted, "Follow me!" and ran up the hill. Then a mortar shell
exploded two meters away. I had time to see bright red blotches spurt across
my trousers legs and to wonder if that was my own blood; then I fell. The
battle noises dimmed out.
* * *
"Lieutenant! Mr. Slater!"
I was in the bottom of a well. It was dark down there, and it hurt to look up
at the light. I wanted to sink back into the well, but someone at the top was
shouting at me. "Mr. Slater!"
"He's coming around, Centurion."
"He's got to, Crisp! Mr. Slater!"
There were people all around me. I couldn't see them very clearly, but I could
recognize the voice. "Yes, Centurion."
"Mr. Slater," Ardwain said. "The Governor says we shouldn't take the hill!
What do we do, sir?"
It didn't make sense. Where am I? I wondered. I had just sense enough not to
ask. Everybody asks that, I thought. Why does everybody ask that? But I don't
know—
I was pulled to a sitting position. My eyes managed to focus again, just for a
moment. I was surrounded by people and rocks. Big rocks. Then I knew where I
was. I'd passed these rocks before. They were at the base of the hill. Rocks
below the Rockpile.
"What's that? Don't take the hill?" I said.
"Yes, sir—"
"Lieutenant, I have ordered your men to pull back. There are not enough to
take this hill, and there's no point in wasting them."
That wasn't the Governor, but I'd heard the voice before. Trevor. Colonel
Trevor of the militia. He'd been with Swale at the staff meeting back at
Beersheba. Bits of the staff meeting came back to me, and I tried to remember
more of them. Then I realized that was silly. The staff meeting wasn't
important, but I couldn't think. What was important? There was something I had
to do.
Get up the hill. I had to get up the hill. "Get me on my feet, Centurion."
"Sir—"
"Do it!" I was screaming. "I'm going up there. We have to take the Rockpile."
"You heard the company commander!" Ardwain shouted. "Move out!"
"Slater, you don't know what you're saying!" Trevor shouted.
I ignored him. "I've got to see," I said. I tried to get up, but my legs
weren't working. Nothing happened when I tried to move them. "Lift me where I
can see," I said.
"Sir—"
"Crisp, don't argue with me. Do it."
"You're crazy, Slater!" Trevor shouted. "Delirious. Sergeant Crisp, put him
down. You'll kill him."
The medics hauled me to the edge of the boulder patch. Ardwain was leading men

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up the hill. Not just Marines, I saw. The militia had followed, as well.
Insane, something whispered in the back of my mind. All insane. It's a
disease, and they've caught it, too. I pushed the thought away.
They were falling, but they were still moving forward as they fell. I didn't
know if they'd get to the top.
"You wanted to see!" Trevor shouted. "Now you've seen it! You can't send them
up there. It's suicide, and they won't even listen to me! You've got to call
them back, Slater. Make them retreat."
I looked at the fallen men. Some were just ahead of me. They hadn't even
gotten twenty meters. There was one body blown in half. Something bright lay
near it. I saw what it was and turned to Trevor.
"Retreat, Colonel? See that? Our trumpeter was killed sounding the charge. I
don't know how to order a retreat."

XIX
I was deep in the well again, and it was dark, and I was afraid. They reached
down into it after me, trying to pull me up, and I wanted to come. I knew I'd
been in there a long time, and I wanted out, because I could hear Kathryn
calling for me. I reached for her hand, but I couldn't find it. I remember
shouting, but I don't know what I said. The nightmare went on for a long time.
Then it was daytime. The light was orange-red, very bright, and the walls were
splashed with the orange light. I tried to move my head.
"Doc!" someone shouted. His voice was very loud.
"Hal?"
"I can't see you," I said. "Where are you, Kathryn? Where are you?"
"I'm here, Hal. I'll always be here."
And then it was dark again, but it wasn't so lonely in there.
* * *
I woke up several times after that. I couldn't talk much, and when I did I
don't suppose I made much sense, but finally things were clear. I was in the
hospital in Garrison, and I'd been there for weeks. I wasn't sure just how
long. Nobody would tell me anything, and they talked in hushed tones so that I
was sure I was dying, but I didn't.
"What the hell's wrong with me?" I demanded.
"Just take it easy, young fellow." He had a white coat, thick glasses, and a
brown beard with white hairs in it.
"Who the hell are you?"
"That's Dr. Cechi," Kathryn told me.
"Well, why won't he tell me what's wrong with me?"
"He doesn't want to worry you."
"Worry me? Do you think not knowing gives peace of mind? Tell me."
"All right," Cechi said. "Nothing permanent. Understand that first. Nothing
permanent, although it's going to take a while to fix you up. We almost lost
you a couple of times, you know. Multiple perforations of the gut, two broken
vertebrae, compound fracture of the left femur, and assorted scrapes,
punctures, bruises, abrasions, and contusions. Not to mention almost complete
exsanguination when they brought you in. It's nothing we can't fix, but you're
going to be here a while, Captain." He was holding my arm, and I felt pressure
there, a hypo-spray. "You just go to sleep and we'll tell you the rest
tomorrow."
"But—" Whatever I was going to say never got out. I sank back, but it wasn't
into the well. It was just sleep, and I could tell the difference.
* * *
The next time I awoke, Falkenberg was there. He grinned at me.
I grinned back. "Hi, Captain."
"Major. You're the captain."
"Uh? Run that past—"
"Just brevet promotions, but Harrington thinks they'll stick."
"We must have won."
"Oh, yeah." He sat where I could see him. His eyes looked pale blue in that

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light. "Lieutenant Ardwain took the Rockpile, but he said it was all your
doing."
"Lieutenant Ardwain. Lot of promotions out of this," I said.
"Some. The Association no longer exists as an organized military force. Your
girl's friends are in control. Wan Loo is the acting president, or supervisor,
or whatever they call him. Governor Swale's not too happy about it, but
officially he has to be. He didn't like endorsing Harrington's report, either,
but he had no choice."
"But he's a lousy traitor. Why's he still governor?"
"Act your age, Captain." There wasn't any humor in Falkenberg's voice now. "We
have no proof. I know the story, if you'd like to hear it. In fact, you'd
better. You're popular enough with the Fleet, but there'll be elements of the
Grand Senate that'll hate your guts."
"Tell me."
"Swale has always been part of the Bronson faction," Falkenberg said. "The
Bronson family is big in Dover Mineral Development Inc. Seems there's more to
this place than either American Express or Kennicott ever knew. Dover found
out and tried to buy mineral rights. The holy Joes wouldn't sell—especially
the farmers like Wan Loo and Seeton. They don't want industrial development
here, and it was obvious to Swale that they wouldn't sell any mining rights to
Dover. Swale's policy has been to help groups like the Association in return
for their signatures on mining rights contracts. If enough of those outfits
are recognized as legitimate local governments, there won't be any trouble
over the contracts. You can probably figure out the rest."
"Maybe it's my head," I told him, "but I can't. What the devil did he let us
into the valley for, then? Why did he go down there at all?"
"Just because they signed over some mining rights didn't make them his slaves.
They were trying to jack up the grain prices. If the Harmony merchants
complained loud enough, Swale wouldn't be governor here, and what use would he
be to Dover then? He had to put some pressure on them—enough to make them
sell, not so much that they'd be thrown out."
"Only we threw them out," I said.
"Only we threw them out. This time. Don't imagine that it's over."
"It has to be over," I said. "He couldn't pull that again."
"Probably he won't. Bronson hasn't much use for failures. I expect Governor
Swale will shortly be on his way to a post as First Secretary on a mining
asteroid. There'll be another governor, and if he's not a Bronson client,
he'll be someone else's. I'm not supposed to depress you. You've got a
decision to make. I've been assigned to a regular Line Regiment as adjutant.
The 42nd. It's on Kennicott. Tough duty. Probably a lot of fighting, good
opportunities, regular troops. I've got room on the staff. Want to come along?
They tell me you'll be fit to move by the time the next ship gets here."
"I'll think about it."
"Do that. You've got a good career ahead of you. Now you're the youngest
captain in the Fleet. Couldn't swing the Military Star, but you'll get another
medal."
"I'll think about it. I have to talk with Kathryn—"
He shrugged. "Certainly, Captain." He grinned and went out.
Captain. Captains may marry, Majors should marry, Colonels must marry—
But that was soldier talk, and I wasn't sure I was a soldier. Strange, I
thought. Everyone says I am. I've done well, and I have a great career, and it
all seems like a fit of madness. Corporal Brady won't be playing his trumpet
any longer because of me. Dangier, wounded but alive, until he volunteered to
be an artillery spotter. And all the others, Levine and Lieberman and
recruit—no, Private—Dietz, and the rest, dead and blended together in my
memory until I can't remember where they died or what for, only that I killed
them.
But we won. It was a glorious victory. That was enough for Falkenberg. He had
done his job and done it well. Was it enough for me? Would it be in the
future?

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* * *
When I was up and around, I couldn't avoid meeting Governor Swale. Irina was
nursing Louis Bonneyman. Louis was worse off than I was. Sometimes they can
grow you a new leg, but it takes time, and it's painful. Irina saw him every
day, and when I could leave the hospital she insisted that I come to the
palace. It was inevitable that I would meet the Governor.
"I hope you're proud of yourself," Swale said. "Everyone else is."
"Hugo, that's not fair," Irina protested.
"Not fair?" Swale said. "How isn't it fair?"
"I did the job I was paid to do, sir," I said.
"Yes. You did, indeed—and thereby made it impossible for me to do mine. Sit
down, Captain Slater. Your Major Falkenberg has told you plenty of stories
about me. Now let me tell you my side of it."
"There's no need, Governor," I said.
"No, there isn't. Are you afraid to find out just what you've done?"
"No. I've helped throw out a gang of convicts who pretended to be a
government. And I'm proud enough of that."
"Are you? Have you been to the Allan Valley lately, Captain? Of course you
haven't. And I doubt Kathryn Malcolm has told you what's happening there—how
Wan Loo and Harry Seeton and a religious fanatic named Brother Dornan have
established commissions of deacons to inquire into the morals and loyalties of
everyone in the valley; how anyone they find deficient is turned off the land
to make room for their own people. No, I don't suppose she told you any of
that."
"I don't believe you."
"Don't you? Ask Miss Malcolm. Or would you believe Irina? She knows it's
true."
I looked to Irina. The pain in her eyes was enough. She didn't have to speak.
"I was governor of the whole planet, Slater. Not just Harmony, not just the
Jordan and Allan valleys, but all of the planet. Only they gave me
responsibilities and no authority, and no means to govern. What am I supposed
to do with the convicts, Slater? They ship them here by the thousands, but
they give me nothing to feed them with. You've seen them. How are they
supposed to live?"
"They can work—"
"At what? As farmhands on ranches of five hundred hectares? The best land on
the planet, doled out as huge ranches with half the land not worked because
there's no fertilizer, no irrigation, not even decent drainage systems. They
sure as hell can't work in our nonexistent industries. Don't you see that
Arrarat must industrialize? It doesn't matter what Allan Valley farmers want,
or what the other holy Joes want. It's industrialize or face famine, and, by
God, there'll be no famines while I can do something about them."
"So you were willing to sell out the 501st. Help the Association defeat us. An
honorable way to achieve an honorable end."
"As honorable as yours. Yours is to kill and destroy. War is honorable, but
deceit isn't. I prefer my way, Captain."
"I expect you do."
Swale nodded vigorously, to himself, not to me. "Smug. Proud and smug. Tell
me, Captain, just how are you better than the Protective Association? They
fought. Not for the honor of the corps, but for their land, their families,
for friends. They lost. You had better men, better officers, better training.
A lot better equipment. If you'd lost, you'd have been returned to Garrison
under terms. The Association troops were shot out of hand. All of them. Be
proud, Slater. But you make me sick. I'll leave you now. I don't care to argue
with my daughter's guests."
"That's true also, isn't it?" I asked Irina. "They shot all the Association
troops?"
"Not all," Irina said. "The ones that surrendered to Captain Falkenberg are
still alive. He even recruited some of them."
He would. The battalion would need men after those battles. "What's happened

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to the rest?"
"They're under guard at Beersheba. It was after your Marines left the valley
that the real slaughter began."
"Sure. People who wouldn't turn out to fight for their homes when we needed
their help got real patriotic after it was over," I said. "I'm going back to
my quarters, Irina. Thank you for having me over."
"But Kathryn is coming. She'll be here—"
"I don't want to see anyone just now. Excuse me." I left quickly and wandered
through the streets of Harmony. People nodded and smiled as I passed. The
Marines were still popular. Of course. We'd opened the trade route up the
Jordan, and we'd cleared out the Allan Valley. Grain was cheap, and we'd held
the convicts at bay. Why shouldn't the people love us?
Tattoo sounded as I entered the fort. The trumpets and drums sounded through
the night, martial and complex and the notes were sweet. Sentries saluted as I
passed. Life here was orderly and there was no need to think.
Hartz had left a full bottle of brandy where I could find it. It was his
theory that the reason I wasn't healing fast was that I didn't drink enough.
The surgeons didn't share his opinion. They were chopping away at me, then
using the regeneration stimulators to make me grow better parts. It was a
painful process, and they didn't think liquor helped it much.
To hell with them, I thought, and poured a double. I hadn't finished it when
Kathryn came in.
"Irina said—Hal, you shouldn't be drinking."
"I doubt that Irina said that."
"You know—what's the matter with you, Hal?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"I was going to. Later. But there never was a right time."
"And it's all true? Your friends are driving the families of everyone who
cooperated with the Association out into the hills? And they've shot all the
prisoners?"
"It's—yes. It's true."
"Why didn't you stop them?"
"Should I have wanted to?" She looked at the scars on her hands. "Should I?"
There was a knock at the door. "Come in," I said.
It was Falkenberg. "Thought you were alone," he said.
"Come in. I'm confused."
"I expect you are. Got any more of that brandy?"
"Sure. What did you mean by that?"
"I understand you've just learned what's happening out in the Allan Valley."
"Crapdoodle! Has Irina been talking to everyone in Garrison? I don't need a
convention of people to cheer me up."
"You don't eh?" He made no move to leave. "Spit it out, Mister."
"You don't call Captains 'Mister.'"
He grinned. "No. Sorry. What's the problem, Hal? Finding out that things
aren't as simple as you'd like them to be?"
"John, what the hell were we fighting for out there? What good do we do?"
He stretched a long arm toward the brandy bottle and poured for both of us.
"We threw a gang of criminals out. Do you doubt that's what they were? Do you
insist that the people we helped be saints?"
"But the women. And children. What will happen to them? And the Governor's
right—something's got to be done for the convicts. Poor bastards are sent
here, and we can't just drown them."
"There's land to the west," Kathryn said. "They can have that. My grandfather
had to start from the beginning. Why can't the new arrivals?"
"The Governor's right about a lot of things," Falkenberg said. "Industry's got
to come to Arrarat someday. Should it come just to make the Bronson family
rich? At the expense of a bunch of farmers who bought their land with one hell
of a lot of hard work and blood? Hal, if you're having second thoughts about
the action here on Arrarat, what'll you do when the Fleet's ordered to do
something completely raw?"

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"I don't know. That's what bothers me."
"You asked what good we do," Falkenberg said. "We buy time. Back on Earth
they're ready to start a war that won't end until billions are dead. The
Fleet's the only thing preventing that. The only thing, Hal. Be as cynical
about the CoDominium as you like. Be contemptuous of Grand Senator Bronson and
his friends—yes, and most of his enemies, too, damn it. But remember that the
Fleet keeps the peace, and as long as we do, Earth still lives. If the price
of that is getting our hands dirty out here on the frontiers, then it's a
price we have to pay. And while we're paying it, just once in a while we do
something right. I think we did that here. For all that they've been vicious
enough now that the battle's over, Wan Loo and his people aren't evil. I'd
rather trust the future to them than to people who'd do . . . that." He took
Kathryn's hand and turned it over in his. "We can't make things perfect, Hal.
But we can damned sure end some of the worst things people do to each other.
If that's not enough, we have our own honor, even if our masters have none.
The Fleet is our country, Hal, and it's an honorable fatherland." Then he
laughed and drained his glass. "Talking's dry work. Pipe Major's learned three
new tunes. Come and hear them. You deserve a night in the club, and the drinks
are on the battalion. You've friends here, and you've not seen much of them."
He stood, the half smile still on his lips. "Good evening, Hal. Kathryn."
"You're going with him, aren't you?" Kathryn said when he'd closed the door.
"You know I don't care all that much for bagpipes—"
"Don't be flippant with me. He's offered you a place with his new regiment,
and you're going to take it."
"I don't know. I've been thinking about it—"
"I know. I didn't before, but I do now. I watched you while he was talking.
You're going."
"I guess I am. Will you come with me?"
"If you'll have me, yes. I can't go back to the ranch. I'll have to sell it. I
couldn't ever live there now. I'm not the same girl I was when this started."
"I'll always have doubts," I said. "I'll need—" I couldn't finish the thought,
but I didn't have to. She came to me, and she wasn't trembling at all, not the
way she'd been before, anyway. I held her for a long time.
"We should go now," she said finally. "They'll be expecting you."
"But—"
"We've plenty of time, Hal. A long time."
As we left the room, Last Post sounded across the fort.

Interlude

Command is the comprehensive responsibility of a soldier assigned a military
mission by the sovereign authority and given the human and material means he
needs to accomplish it. It is also the sole instrument of his authority to use
and expend at his own discretion any or all elements of the means at his
disposal
Command must wield authority to an absolute degree within the scope of its
charge. It brings into being a complex of forces emanating from a focal point
that keeps a number of complexes of force integrated and the manifold power of
the whole directed to the desired end. It is both the binding and the driving
force of every military endeavor. It has no substitute. It is not divisible in
parts. No possible arrangement of organized effort that lacks it can be called
military nor be of any martial value.
Every soul in his earliest stages of untutored awareness feels that the center
of the universe resides within himself. To learn that we exist and move for
the most part in orbits, rather than preside at the focal point of even a
minor cosmic system is a painful and difficult process for most of us . . .

Joseph Maxwell Cameron
The Anatomy of Military Merit

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"Shuttle landing in twenty-six minutes, sir." Centurion Calvin's tone was flat
and unemotional, but he couldn't keep a questioning edge from his voice.
"Pilot says a Rear Admiral is aboard."
Acting Colonel John Christian Falkenberg nodded. "Turn out a guard to render
proper honors. I'll meet him myself."
"Sir." It was clear that Calvin wanted to know more, and that he might have
asked if there hadn't been others in the Colonel's office. Instead he
stiffened to attention and saluted, got a return, and turned on his heel to
stride from the office.
"A Rear Admiral," Captain Harlan Slater said. "You didn't seem surprised,
sir."
"It's Lermontov and I've been expecting him, Hal," Falkenberg said.
"The devil you have." Captain Jeremy Savage was incredulous. Despite years in
the Line Marines he still spoke with the crisp accents of his native
Churchill. "How long has he been in this sector?" Savage looked thoughtful,
and said aloud but mostly to himself, "Long enough." He gave Falkenberg a
knowing look. "I take it he's sector commander, then?"
Falkenberg nodded. "As you surmise."
Slater looked puzzled. "All right, I give up, what's the big secret here?"
Jeremy Savage smiled thinly. "A newly commissioned major arrives on Kennicott.
A bit more than a year later, after a spectacularly successful campaign in
which the regimental colonel is killed, that major is now acting colonel of
the regiment. Not major in command waiting for a new colonel, Hal, but Acting
Colonel, entitled to the rank and pay unless it's rescinded. That kind of
appointment can only come from the sector commander, and since that kind of
patronage isn't accidental, I have already asked myself who might bestow such
an appointment to John Christian Falkenberg." He shrugged. "Now a name comes
to mind, and I hear that he's on his way down to this planet . . ."
Falkenberg cut the conversation short by standing. "And he'll be here shortly.
We don't want to be late meeting him. Gentlemen?"

Rear Admiral Sergei Lermontov looked around the opulent facilities and nodded.
"I need not ask if this office is secure," he said.
"To the best Centurion Calvin can manage, and I checked myself as well, sir,"
Falkenberg said. He shrugged. "Admiral, is anything secure in these times?"
"You ask correct question," Lermontov said. "And answer is no, despite all we
can do." He looked significantly at the golden pips on Falkenberg's
epaulettes. "At least we are gathering tools. There is much can be done with a
regiment under proper command. Yours."
"You're saying I can keep the 42nd?"
"Unlikely as this seems. We have unusual situation in Grand Senate, coalition
in our favor together with urgent need for regiment commanded by one of us.
You become colonel and keep regiment. I become Vice Admiral." He nodded. "And
perhaps more, if you are successful. But we must act quickly."
"Act quickly? Sir?"
"Yes. Transport brings battalion of Fleet Marines to take up duties here. That
will be sufficient, now, I believe? Your report indicates there is no
opposition remaining that would strain such resources."
"That's true enough, sir. Provided that the local militia stays loyal."
"This is problem?"
Falkenberg shook his head slowly. "Not a big problem. The local militia leader
is my wife's father, which is to say, my wife, given Tobias's failing health.
As long as Grace is here, the situation is stable, sir." Falkenberg's face
held no expression. "Of course that may present a problem for me. You haven't
said where you intend sending the 42nd."
"Far, and probably for long time," Lermontov said. "Two years at least. This
will be permanent change, there is transportation for all dependents." He

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paused. "I must be honest. You will not come back to Kennicott in any case.
There is other work for 42nd Line Marines under your command."
"The situation here won't change, Admiral," Falkenberg said. "The miners trust
Tobias and Grace. So do the owners. Without them the peace here falls apart."
"I know."
"You ask a lot. Sir." Falkenberg said.
"I offer much," Lermontov said. "Regiment to officer who was captain before
Ararat campaign."
Falkenberg shook his head. "Colonel of 42nd, against commander of planetary
militia. My wife's family is rich, Admiral. Why would a colonel's pay be
tempting? We both know I'll never be anything more than a Line Marine colonel
no matter what your influence."
"True enough. There is no question that if you choose to leave service, I
cannot prevent, and you will certainly have more pleasant life."
Falkenberg nodded. "So."
"So I need you," Lermontov said. "Shall I be dramatic? Human race needs you."
"That's dramatic enough. Unlikely to be true, but dramatic enough."
"Is quite true," Lermontov said. "Shall I explain?"


PART TWO: MERCENARY
From the last West Point lecture by Professor John Christian Falkenberg, II,
delivered at the United States Military Academy immediately prior to the
reorganization of the Academy. After the Academy was restructured to reflect
rising nationalism in the United States, Falkenberg as a CoDominium Professor
was unwelcome in any event; but the content of this lecture would have assured
that anyway. Crofton's Essays and Lectures in Military History, 2nd Edition.
* * *
"All large and important institutions change slowly. It is probably as well
that this is true for the military; but well or not, it is inevitable. It
takes time to build history and traditions, and military organizations with no
history and traditions are generally ineffective.

"There are of course notable exceptions to this rule, although some of the
more popular cases do not bear examination. For example, Colonel Michael
Hoare's Fifth Commando in Katanga in the 1960s, while rightly studied as a
harbinger of the growth of mercenary organizations in this century, owed much
of its justly celebrated success to the incompetence—including frequent
drunkenness—of its opposition. Moreover, Hoare, by recruiting most of his
officers and non-coms, and many of his troopers, from British veterans, was
able to draw on the long history and tradition of the British Army.

"I dare say something of this sort will happen in the future, as many
CoDominium military units are disbanded. It is conceivable that entire units
will be hired on by one or another patron. Certainly a small cohesive unit
accustomed to working together would be preferable to a larger group of
mercenaries.

"The building of the CoDominium military forces is itself an illustrative
case; once again, by incorporating disbanded units such as the French Légion
Étrangére, the Cameron Highlanders, and the Cossack Adventurers, a fighting
force was able to appropriate to itself considerable history and tradition.
Even so, it has taken decades to build the CoDominium Line Marines into the
formidable force they have become.

"However, I bring up the subject of changing institutions for another reason.
We are seeing, I believe, the completion of yet another full cycle in the
history of violence and civilization. As late as the turn of the Millennium,
most military organizations were motivated by national patriotism, and the
'Laws of War' were treated either as a joke, as unwanted restrictions on

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military action, or, as in the case of the infamous 'War Crimes' trials
following World War II, as a means of retaliation against a defeated enemy.

"Then, during the course of this century, the Laws of War have become quite
important, and have often been observed; and where they are not observed there
is a good chance that the CoDominium Fleet will punish those who violate
them—particularly if the violation involves CoDominium citizens, and
inevitably if it involves a member of the Fleet.

"Now I believe we are entering a new period; one in which the nationalist
forces will pursue a new policy of expediency, while the CoDominium and
mercenary units continue to observe and insist on the Laws of War. Now it
would appear that the outcome of such a conflict is predictable: that the
organizations which recognize no limitations save expediency will always
triumph over those which restrict their uses of military power. This is not
impossible. I do not believe it will be inevitable.

However, many do believe that the Laws of War will go the way of the Rights of
Neutrals in the last century. After all, the United States, having entered
World War I ostensibly to protect the rights of neutral vessels on the high
seas, within days of entering World War II declared unrestricted submarine
warfare against Germany and Japan; while the Allied powers, having denounced
Japanese actions against Nanking in the 1930s, had no scruples about bombing
civilians and open cities as the war progressed, culminating in Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, and the fire raids against Tokyo.

"By the end of World War II, few observed any limits on the use of military
power. Allied units regularly took civilian hostages and exposed civilian
officials to danger as a means of discouraging partisan activity. Most of
these actions had been taken by the German Army and of course had been
denounced at the time.

"That expedient view became so widespread that for decades no one could
conceive of another.

"However, it has not always been would be imprecise to say that there existed
an explicit international agreement concerning the types of military
technology that might or might not be used, the various contestants shared a
common material civilization and knew what to expect of each other. Since they
fielded much the same weapons and equipment, but also because commanders and
technical experts frequently transferred from one army to another, they found
themselves operating on broadly similar tactical and strategic codes . . .'

"The second period of warfare treated as a game with rules was, of course, the
period of feudal chivalry, and probably quite enough has been said about it in
previous lectures. For the third, I quote again from Creveld:

"'The play-element often present in armed conflict was, however, probably
never as pronounced as in the eighteenth century, when war become popularly
known as the game of kings. It was an age in which, according to Voltaire, all
Europeans lived under the same kind of institutions, believed in the same kind
of ideas, and fornicated with the same kind of women. Most states were ruled
by absolute monarchs. Even those who were not so ruled neither expected nor
demanded the lump-in-the-throat type of allegiance later to be associated with
the nationalist states. Armies were commanded by members of an international
nobility who spoke French as their lingua franca and switched sides as they
saw fit. They were manned by personnel who, often enlisted by trickery and
kept in the ranks by main force, cared nothing for honor, duty, or country . .
.

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"'In each of the three above periods, as well as in many others which
witnessed the same phenomenon, the transformation of war into something akin
to a game did not pass without comment. What some people took as a sign of
piety or reason or progress, others saw as proof of stupidity, effeminacy, and
degeneration. During the last years before the French Revolution, Gibbon
praised war for its moderation and expressed the hope that it would soon
disappear altogether. Simultaneously, a French nobleman, the Comte de Guibet,
was cutting a figure among the ladies of the salons by denouncing the
prevailing military practices as degenerate and calling for a commander and a
people who, to use his own words, would tear apart the feeble constitution of
Europe like the north wind bending the reeds . . .'

"Gentlemen and ladies, I invite you to reflect on this. We live in a time when
the major powers of the Earth are governed by what can only be called self
perpetuating oligarchies. While there is more ostensible turnover in the
compositions of the Congress of the United States and the Supreme Soviet than
there was in the last decade of the twentieth century, there is not a lot
more, and what turnover there is happens to be meaningless; the new master is
indistinguishable from the old.

"Nor is it important that these oligarchs think themselves important doing
important work—indeed that they are important and do important work. The
effect has been to alienate the Citizen entirely; while the taxpayer supports
the present system only because he fears the loss of his privileges—because he
fears he will be cast into the lot of the Citizen. The same is true in the
Soviet system, where Party Members have long ago lost confidence in the
possibility of reform, and now do no more than jealously hold onto their
privileges.

"Yet—while it is easy to denounce the CoDominium and its endless cynicism, it
is not so certain that whatever replaces it will be better. Indeed, we must
wonder just what would survive the collapse of the CoDominium . . ."

I
Twenty years later . . .
Earth floated eternally lovely above bleak lunar mountains. Daylight lay
across California and most of the Pacific, and the glowing ocean made an
impossibly blue background for a vortex of bright clouds swirling in a massive
tropical storm. Beyond the lunar crags, man's home was a fragile ball amidst
the black star-studded velvet of space; a ball that a man might reach out to
grasp and crush in his bare hands.
Grand Admiral Sergei Lermontov looked at the bright viewscreen image and
thought how easy it would be for Earth to die. He kept her image on the
viewscreen to remind himself of that every time he looked up.
"That's all we can get you, Sergei." His visitor sat with hands carefully
folded in his lap. A photograph would have shown him in a relaxed position,
seated comfortably in the big visitor's chair covered with leathers from
animals that grew on planets a hundred light years from Earth. Seen closer,
the real man was not relaxed at all. He looked that way from his long
experience as a politician.
"I wish it could be more." Grand Senator Martin Grant shook his head slowly
from side to side. "At least it's something."
"We will lose ships and disband regiments. I cannot operate the Fleet on that
budget." Lermontov's voice was flat and precise. He adjusted his rimless
spectacles to a comfortable position on his thin nose. His gestures, like his
voice, were precise and correct, and it was said in Navy wardrooms that the
Grand Admiral practiced in front of a mirror.
"You'll have to do the best you can. It's not even certain the United Party
can survive the next election. God knows we won't be able to if we give any
more to the Fleet."

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"But there is enough money for national armies." Lermontov looked
significantly at Earth's image on the viewscreen. "Armies that can destroy
earth. Martin, how can we keep the peace if you will not let us have ships and
men?"
"You can't keep the peace if there's no CoDominium."
Lermontov frowned. "Is there a real chance that the United Party will lose,
then?"
Martin Grant's head bobbed in an almost imperceptible movement. "Yes."
"And the United States will withdraw from the CD." Lermontov thought of all
that would mean, for Earth and for the nearly hundred worlds where men lived.
"Not many of the colonies will survive without us. It is too soon. If we did
not suppress science and research it might be different, but there are so few
independent worlds—Martin, we are spread thin across the colony worlds. The
CoDominium must help them. We created their problems with our colonial
governments. We gave them no chances at all to live without us. We cannot let
them go suddenly."
Grant sat motionless, saying nothing.
"Yes, I am preaching to the converted. But it is the Navy that gave the Grand
Senate this power over the colonies. I cannot help feeling responsible."
Senator Grant's head moved slightly again, either a nod or a tremor. "I would
have thought there was a lot you could do, Sergei. The Fleet obeys you, not
the Senate. I know my nephew has made that clear enough. The warriors respect
another warrior, but they've only contempt for us politicians."
"You are inviting treason?"
"No. Certainly I'm not suggesting that the Fleet try running the show.
Military rule hasn't worked very well for us, has it?" Senator Grant turned
his head slightly to indicate the globe behind him. Twenty nations on Earth
were governed by armies, none of them very well.
On the other hand, the politicians aren't doing a much better job, he thought.
Nobody is. "We don't seem to have any goals, Sergei. We just hang on, hoping
that things will get better. Why should they?"
"I have almost ceased to hope for better conditions," Lermontov replied. "Now
I only pray they do not get worse." His lips twitched slightly in a thin
smile. "Those prayers are seldom answered."
"I spoke with my brother yesterday," Grant said. "He's threatening to retire
again. I think he means it this time."
"But he cannot do that!" Lermontov shuddered. "Your brother is one of the few
men in the U. S. government who understands how desperate is our need for
time."
"I told him that."
"And?"
Grant shook his head. "It's the rat race, Sergei. John doesn't see any end to
it. It's all very well to play rear guard, but for what?"
"Isn't the survival of civilization a worthwhile goal?"
"If that's where we're headed, yes. But what assurance do we have that we'll
achieve even that?"
The Grand Admiral's smile was wintry. "None, of course. But we may be sure
that nothing will survive if we do not have more time. A few years of peace,
Martin. Much can happen in a few years. And if nothing does—why, we will have
had a few years."
The wall behind Lermontov was covered with banners and plaques. Centered among
them was the CoDominium Seal: American eagle, Soviet sickle and hammer, red
stars and white stars. Beneath it was the Navy's official motto: PEACE IS OUR
PROFESSION.
We chose that motto for them, Grant thought. The Senate made the Navy adopt
it. Except for Lermontov I wonder how many Fleet officers believe it? What
would they have chosen if left to themselves?
There are always the warriors, and if you don't give them something worthwhile
to fight for . . . But we can't live without them, because there comes a time
when you have to have warriors. Like Sergei Lermontov.

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But do we have to have politicians like me? "I'll talk to John again. I've
never been sure how serious he is about retiring anyway. You get used to
power, and it's hard to lay it down. It only takes a little persuasion, some
argument to let you justify keeping it. Power's more addicting than opiates."
"But you can do nothing about our budget."
"No. Fact is, there's more problems. We need Bronson's votes, and he's got
demands."
Lermontov's eyes narrowed, and his voice was thick with distaste. "At least we
know how to deal with men like Bronson." And it was strange, Lermontov
thought, that despicable creatures like Bronson should be so small as
problems. They could be bribed. They expected to be bought.
It was the men of honor who created the real problems. Men like Harmon in the
United States and Kaslov in the Soviet Union, men with causes they would die
for—they had brought mankind to this.
But I would rather know Kaslov and Harmon and their friends than Bronson's
people who support us.
"You won't like some of what he's asked for," Grant said. "Isn't Colonel
Falkenberg a special favorite of yours?"
"He is one of our best men. I use him when the situation seems desperate. His
men will follow him anywhere, and he does not waste lives in achieving our
objectives."
"He's apparently stepped on Bronson's toes once too often. They want him
cashiered."
"No." Lermontov's voice was firm.
Martin Grant shook his head. Suddenly he felt very tired, despite the low
gravity of the moon. "There's no choice, Sergei. It's not just personal
dislike, although there's a lot of that too. Bronson's making up to Harmon,
and Harmon thinks Falkenberg's dangerous."
"Of course he is dangerous. He is a warrior. But he is a danger only to
enemies of the CoDominium. . . ."
"Precisely." Grant sighed again. "Sergei, I know. We're robbing you of your
best tools and then expecting you to do the work without them."
"It is more than that, Martin. How do you control warriors?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I asked, 'How do you control warriors?'" Lermontov adjusted his spectacles
with the tips of the fingers of both hands. "By earning their respect, of
course. But what happens if that respect is forfeit? There will be no
controlling him; and you are speaking of one of the best military minds alive.
You may live to regret this decision, Martin."
"Can't be helped. Sergei, do you think I like telling you to dump a good man
for a snake like Bronson? But it doesn't matter. The Patriot Party's ready to
make a big thing out of this, and Falkenberg couldn't survive that kind of
political pressure anyway, you know that. No officer can. His career's
finished no matter what."
"You have always supported him in the past."
"Goddamn it, Sergei, I appointed him to the Academy in the first place. I
cannot support him, and you can't either. He goes, or we lose Bronson's vote
on the budget."
"But why?" Lermontov demanded. "The real reason."
Grant shrugged. "Bronson's or Harmon's? Bronson has hated Colonel Falkenberg
ever since that business on Kennicott. The Bronson family lost a lot of money
there, and it didn't help that Bronson had to vote in favor of giving
Falkenberg his medals either. I doubt there's any more to it than that.
"Harmon's a different matter. He really believes that Falkenberg might lead
his troops against Earth. And once he asks for Falkenberg's scalp as a favor
from Bronson—"
"I see. But Harmon's reasons are ludicrous. At least at the moment they are
ludicrous—"
"If he's that damned dangerous, kill him," Grant said. He saw the look on
Lermontov's face. "I don't really mean that, Sergei, but you'll have to do

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something."
"I will."
"Harmon thinks you might order Falkenberg to march on Earth."
Lermontov looked up in surprise.
"Yes. It's come to that. Not even Bronson's ready to ask for your scalp. Yet.
But it's another reason why your special favorites have to take a low profile
right now."
"You speak of our best men."
Grant's look was full of pain and sadness. "Sure. Anyone who's effective
scares hell out of the Patriots. They want the CD eliminated entirely, and if
they can't get that, they'll weaken it. They'll keep chewing away, too,
getting rid of our most competent officers, and there's not a lot we can do.
Maybe in a few years things will be better."
"And perhaps they will be worse," Lermontov said.
"Yeah. There's always that, too."
* * *
Sergei Lermontov stared at the viewscreen long after Grand Senator Grant had
left the office. Darkness crept slowly across the Pacific, leaving Hawaii in
shadow, and still Lermontov sat without moving, his fingers drumming
restlessly on the polished wood desktop.
I knew it would come to this, he thought. Not so soon, though, not so soon.
There is still so much to do before we can let go.
And yet it will not be long before we have no choice. Perhaps we should act
now.
Lermontov recalled his youth in Moscow, when the Generals controlled the
Presidium, and shuddered. No, he thought. The military virtues are useless for
governing civilians. But the politicians are doing no better.
If we had not suppressed scientific research. But that was done in the name of
the peace. Prevent development of new weapons. Keep control of technology in
the hands of the government, prevent technology from dictating policy to all
of us; it had seemed so reasonable, and besides, the policy was very old now.
There were few trained scientists, because no one wanted to live under the
restrictions of the Bureau of Technology.
What is done is done, he thought, and looked around the office. Open cabinets
held shelves covered with the mementos of a dozen worlds. Exotic shells lay
next to reptilian stuffed figures and were framed by gleaming rocks that could
bring fabulous prices if he cared to sell.
Impulsively he reached toward the desk console and turned the selector switch.
Images flashed across the viewscreen until he saw a column of men marching
through a great open bubble of rock. They seemed dwarfed by the enormous cave.
A detachment of CoDominium Marines marching through the central area of Luna
Base. Senate chamber and government offices were far below the cavern, buried
so deeply into rock that no weapon could destroy the CoDominium's leaders by
surprise. Above them were the warriors who guarded, and this group was
marching to relieve the guard.
Lermontov turned the sound pickup but heard no more than the precise measured
tramp of marching boots. They walked carefully in low gravity, their pace
modified to accommodate their low weight; and they would, he knew, be just as
precise on a high-gravity world.
They wore uniforms of blue and scarlet, with gleaming buttons of gold, badges
of the dark rich bronze alloys found on Kennicott, berets made from some
reptile that swam in Tanith's seas. Like the Grand Admiral's office, the
CoDominium Marines showed the influence of worlds light years away.
"Sound off."
The order came through the pickup so loud that it startled the Admiral, and he
turned down the volume as the men began to sing.
Lermontov smiled to himself. That song was officially forbidden, and it was
certainly not an appropriate choice for the guard mount about to take posts
outside the Grand Senate chambers. It was also very nearly the official
marching song of the Marines. And that, Admiral Lermontov thought, ought to

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tell something to any Senator listening.
If Senators ever listened to anything from the military people.
The measured verses came through, slowly, in time with the sinister gliding
step of the troops.

"We've left blood in the dirt of twenty-five worlds,
we've built roads on a dozen more,
and all that we have at the end our hitch,
buys a night with a second-class whore.

"The Senate decrees, the Grand Admiral calls,
the orders come down from on high,
It's 'On Full Kits' and sound 'Board Ships,'
We're sending you where you can die.

"The lands that we take, the Senate gives back,
rather more often than not,
so the more that are killed, the less share the loot,
and we won't be back to this spot.

"We'll break the hearts of your women and girls,
we may break your arse as well,
Then the Line Marines with their banners unfurled,
will follow those banners to Hell.

"We know the devil, his pomps and his works,
Ah yes! we know them well!
When we've served out our hitch as Line Marines,
we can bugger the Senate of Hell!

"Then we'll drink with our comrades and lay down our packs,
we'll rest ten years on the flat of our backs,
then it's 'On Full Kits' and 'Out of Your Racks,'
you must build a new road through Hell!

"The Fleet is our country, we sleep with a rifle,
no one ever begot a son on his rifle,
they pay us in gin and curse when we sin,
there's not one that can stand us unless we're down wind,
we're shot when we lose and turned out when we win,
but we bury our comrades wherever they fall,
and there's none that can face us though we've nothing at all."

The verse ended with a flurry of drums, and Lermontov gently changed the
selector back to the turning Earth.
Perhaps, he thought. Perhaps there's hope, but only if we have time.
Can the politicians buy enough time?

II
The honorable John Rogers Grant laid a palm across a winking light on his desk
console and it went out, shutting off the security phone to Luna Base. His
face held an expression of pleasure and distaste, as it always did when he was
through talking with his brother.
I don't think I've ever won an argument with Martin, he thought. Maybe it's
because he knows me better than I know myself.
Grant turned toward the Tri-V, where the speaker was in full form. The speech
had begun quietly as Harmon's speeches always did, full of resonant tones and
appeals to reason. The quiet voice had asked for attention, but now it had
grown louder and demanded it.
The background behind him changed as well, so that Harmon stood before the

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stars and stripes covering the hemisphere, with an American eagle splendid
over the Capitol. Harmon was working himself into one of his famous frenzies,
and his face was contorted with emotion.
"Honor? It is a word that Lipscomb no longer understands! Whatever he might
have been—and my friends, we all know how great he once was—he is no longer
one of us! His cronies, the dark little men who whisper to him, have corrupted
even as great a man as President Lipscomb!
"And our nation bleeds! She bleeds from a thousand wounds! People of America,
hear me! She bleeds from the running sores of these men and their CoDominium!
"They say that if we leave the CoDominium it will mean war. I pray God it will
not, but if it does, why these are hard times. Many of us will be killed, but
we would die as men! Today our friends and allies, the people of Hungary, the
people of Rumania, the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Poles, all of them groan under
the oppression of their Communist masters. Who keeps them there? We do! Our
CoDominium!
"We have become no more than slavemasters. Better to die as men.
"But it will not come to that. The Russians will never fight. They are soft,
as soft as we, their government is riddled with the same corruptions as ours.
People of America, hear me! People of America, listen!"
Grant spoke softly and the Tri-V turned itself off. A walnut panel slid over
the darkened screen, and Grant spoke again.
The desk opened to offer a small bottle of milk. There was nothing he could do
for his ulcer despite the advances in medical science. Money was no problem,
but there was never time for surgery and weeks with the regeneration
stimulators.
He leafed through papers on his desk. Most were reports with bright red
security covers, and Grant closed his eyes for a moment. Harmon's speech was
important and would probably affect the upcoming elections. The man is getting
to be a nuisance, Grant thought.
I should do something about him.
He put the thought aside with a shudder. Harmon had been a friend, once. Lord,
what have we come to? He opened the first report.
There had been a riot at the International Federation of Labor convention.
Three killed and the smooth plans for the reelection of Matt Brady thrown into
confusion. Grant grimaced again and drank more milk. The Intelligence people
had assured him this one would be easy.
He dug through the reports and found that three of Harvey Bertram's child
crusaders were responsible. They'd bugged Brady's suite. The idiot hadn't
known better than to make deals in his room. Now Bertram's people had enough
evidence of sellouts to inflame floor sentiment in a dozen conventions.
The report ended with a recommendation that the government drop Brady and
concentrate support on MacKnight, who had a good reputation and whose file in
the CIA building bulged with information. MacKnight would be easy to control.
Grant nodded to himself and scrawled his signature on the action form.
He threw it into the "Top Secret: Out" tray and watched it vanish. There was
no point in wasting time. Then he wondered idly what would happen to Brady.
Matt Brady had been a good United Party man; blast Bertram's people anyway.
He took up the next file, but before he could open it his secretary came in.
Grant looked up and smiled, glad of his decision to ignore the electronics.
Some executives never saw their secretaries for weeks at a time.
"Your appointment, sir," she said. "And it's time for your nerve tonic."
He grunted. "I'd rather die." But he let her pour a shot glass of evil-tasting
stuff, and he tossed it off and chased it with milk. Then he glanced at his
watch, but that wasn't necessary. Miss Ackridge knew the travel time to every
Washington office. There'd be no time to start another report, which suited
Grant fine.
He let her help him into his black coat and brush off a few silver hairs. He
didn't feel sixty-five, but he looked it now. It happened all at once. Five
years ago he could pass for forty. John saw the girl in the mirror behind him
and knew that she loved him, but it wouldn't work.

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And why the hell not? he wondered. It isn't as if you're pining away for
Priscilla. By the time she died you were praying it would happen, and we
married late to begin with. So why the hell do you act as if the great love of
your life has gone out forever? All you'd have to do is turn around, say five
words, and—and what? She wouldn't be the perfect secretary any longer, and
secretaries are harder to find than mistresses. Let it alone.
She stood there a moment longer, then moved away. "Your daughter wants to see
you this evening," she told him. "She's driving down this afternoon and says
it's important."
"Know why?" Grant asked. Ackridge knew more about Sharon than Grant did.
Possibly a lot more.
"I can guess. I think her young man has asked her."
John nodded. It wasn't unexpected, but still it hurt. So soon, so soon. They
grow so fast when you're an old man. John Jr. was a commander in the
CoDominium Navy, soon to be a captain with a ship of his own. Frederick was
dead in the same accident as his mother. And now Sharon, the baby, had found
another life . . . not that they'd been close since he'd taken this job.
"Run his name through CIA, Flora, I meant to do that months ago. They won't
find anything, but we'll need it for the records."
"Yes, sir. You'd better be on your way now. Your drivers are outside."
He scooped up his briefcase. "I won't be back tonight. Have my car sent around
to the White House, will you? I'll drive myself home tonight."
He acknowledged the salutes of the driver and armed mechanic with a cheery
wave and followed them to the elevator at the end of the long corridor.
Paintings and photographs of ancient battles hung along both sides of the
hall, and there was carpet on the floor, but otherwise it was like a cave.
Blasted Pentagon, he thought for the hundredth time. Silliest building ever
constructed. Nobody can find anything, and it can't be guarded at any price.
Why couldn't someone have bombed it?
They took a surface car to the White House. A flight would have been another
detail to worry about, and besides, this way he got to see the cherry trees
and flower beds around the Jefferson. The Potomac was a sludgy brown mess. You
could swim in it if you had a strong stomach, but the Army Engineers had
"improved" it a few administrations back. They'd given it concrete banks. Now
they were ripping them out, and it brought down mudslides.
They drove through rows of government buildings, some abandoned. Urban renewal
had given Washington all the office space the Government would ever need, and
more, so that there were these empty buildings as relics of the time when D.C.
was the most crime-ridden city in the world. Sometime in Grant's youth,
though, they'd hustled everyone out of Washington who didn't work there, with
bulldozers quickly following to demolish the tenements. For political reasons
the offices had gone in as quickly as the other buildings were torn down.
They passed the Population Control Bureau and drove around the Elipse and past
Old State to the gate. The guard carefully checked his identity and made him
put his palm on the little scanning plate. Then they entered the tunnel to the
White House basement.
The President stood when Grant entered the Oval Office, and the others shot to
their feet as if they had ejection charges under them. Grant shook hands
around but looked closely at Lipscomb. The President was feeling the strain,
no question about it. Well, they all were.
The Secretary of Defense wasn't there, but then he never was. The Secretary
was a political hack who controlled a bloc of Aerospace Guild votes and an
even larger bloc of aerospace industry stocks. As long as government contracts
kept his companies busy employing his men, he didn't give a damn about policy.
He could sit in on formal Cabinet sessions where nothing was ever said, and no
one would know the difference. John Grant was Defense as much as he was CIA.
Few of the men in the Oval Office were well known to the public. Except for
the President any one of them could have walked the streets of any city except
Washington without fear of recognition. But the power they controlled, as
assistants and deputies, was immense, and they all knew it. There was no need

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to pretend here.
The servitor brought drinks and Grant accepted Scotch. Some of the others
didn't trust a man who wouldn't drink with them. His ulcer would give him
hell, and his doctor more, but doctors and ulcers didn't understand the
realities of power. Neither, thought Grant, do I or any of us, but we've got
it.
"Mr. Karins, would you begin?" the President asked. Heads swiveled to the west
wall where Karins stood at the briefing screen. To his right a polar
projection of Earth glowed with lights showing the status of the forces that
the President ordered, but Grant controlled.
Karins stood confidently, his paunch spilling out over his belt. The fat was
an obscenity in so young a man. Herman Karins was the second youngest man in
the room, Assistant Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and said
to be one of the most brilliant economists Yale had ever produced. He was also
the best political technician in the country, but he hadn't learned that at
Yale.
He activated the screen to show a set of figures. "I have the latest poll
results," Karins said too loudly. "This is the real stuff, not the slop we
give the press. It stinks."
Grant nodded. It certainly did. The Unity Party was hovering around
thirty-eight percent, just about evenly divided between the Republican and
Democratic wings. Harmon's Patriot Party had just over twenty-five.
Millington's violently left wing Liberation Party had its usual ten, but the
real shocker was Bertram's Freedom Party. Bertram's popularity stood at an
unbelievable twenty percent of the population.
"These are figures for those who have an opinion and might vote," Karins said.
"Of course there's the usual gang that doesn't give a damn, but we know how
they split off. They go to whomever got to 'em last anyway. You see the bad
news."
"You're sure of this?" the Assistant Postmaster General asked. He was the
leader of the Republican wing of Unity, and it hadn't been six months since he
had told them they could forget Bertram.
"Yes, sir," Karins said. "And it's growing. Those riots at the labor
convention probably gave 'em another five points we don't show. Give Bertram
six months and he'll be ahead of us. How you like them apples, boys and
girls?"
"There is no need to be flippant, Mr. Karins," the President said.
"Sorry, Mr. President." Karins wasn't sorry at all and he grinned at the
Assistant Postmaster General with triumph. Then he flipped the switches to
show new charts.
"Soft and hard," Karins said. "You'll notice Bertram's vote is pretty soft,
but solidifying. Harmon's is so hard you couldn't get 'em away from him
without you use nukes. And ours is a little like butter. Mr. President, I
can't even guarantee we'll be the largest party after the election, much less
that we can hold a majority."
"Incredible," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs muttered.
"Worse than incredible." The Commerce rep shook her head in disbelief. "A
disaster. Who will win?"
Karins shrugged. "Toss-up, but if I had to say, I'd pick Bertram. He's getting
more of our vote than Harmon."
"You've been quiet, John," the President said. "What are your thoughts here?"
"Well, sir, it's fairly obvious what the result will be no matter who wins as
long as it isn't us." Grant lifted his Scotch and sipped with relish. He
decided to have another and to hell with the ulcer. "If Harmon wins, he pulls
out of the CoDominium, and we have war. If Bertram takes over, he relaxes
security, Harmon drives him out with his storm troopers, and we have war
anyway."
Karins nodded. "I don't figure Bertram could hold power more'n a year,
probably not that long. Man's too honest."
The President sighed loudly. "I can recall a time when men said that about me,

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Mr. Karins."
"It's still true, Mr. President." Karins spoke hurriedly. "But you're
realistic enough to let us do what we have to do. Bertram wouldn't."
"So what do we do about it?" the President asked gently.
"Rig the election," Karins answered quickly. "I give out the popularity
figures here." He produced a chart indicating a majority popularity for Unity.
"Then we keep pumping out more faked stuff while Mr. Grant's people work on
the vote-counting computers. Hell, it's been done before."
"Won't work this time." They turned to look at the youngest man in the room.
Larry Moriarty, assistant to the President, and sometimes called the "resident
heretic," blushed at the attention. "The people know better. Bertram's people
are already taking jobs in the computer centers, aren't they, Mr. Grant?
They'll see it in a minute."
Grant nodded. He'd sent the report over the day before; interesting that
Moriarty had already digested it.
"You make this a straight rigged election, and you'll have to use CoDominium
Marines to keep order," Moriarty continued.
"The day I need CoDominium Marines to put down riots in the United States is
the day I resign," the President said coldly. "I may be a realist, but there
are limits to what I will do. You'll need a new chief, gentlemen."
"That's easy to say, Mr. President," Grant said. He wanted his pipe, but the
doctors had forbidden it. To hell with them, he thought, and took a cigarette
from a pack on the table. "It's easy to say, but you can't do it."
The President frowned. "Why not?"
Grant shook his head. "The Unity Party supports the CoDominium, and the
CoDominium keeps the peace. An ugly peace, but by God, peace. I wish we hadn't
got support for the CoDominium treaties tied so thoroughly to the Unity Party,
but it is and that's that. And you know damn well that even in the Party it's
only a thin majority that supports the CoDominium. Right, Harry?"
The Assistant Postmaster General nodded. "But don't forget, there's support
for the CD in Bertram's group."
"Sure, but they hate our guts," Moriarty said. "They say we're corrupt. And
they're right."
"So flipping what if they're right?" Karins snapped. "We're in, they're out.
Anybody who's in for long is corrupt. If he isn't, he's not in."
"I fail to see the point of this discussion," the President interrupted. "I
for one do not enjoy being reminded of all the things I have done to keep this
office. The question is, what are we going to do? I feel it only fair to warn
you that nothing could make me happier than to have Mr. Bertram sit in this
chair. I've been President for a long time, and I'm tired. I don't want the
job anymore."

III
Everyone spoke at once, shouting to the President, murmuring to their
neighbors, until Grant cleared his throat loudly. "Mr. President," he said
using the tone of command he'd been taught during his brief tour in the Army
Reserve. "Mr. President, if you will pardon me, that is a ludicrous
suggestion. There is no one else in the Unity Party who has even a ghost of a
chance of winning. You alone remain popular. Even Mr. Harmon speaks as well of
you as he does of anyone not in his group. You cannot resign without dragging
the Unity Party with you, and you cannot give that chair to Mr. Bertram
because he couldn't hold it six months."
"Would that be so bad?" President Lipscomb leaned toward Grant with the
confidential manner he used in his fireside chats to the people. "Are we
really so sure that only we can save the human race, John? Or do we only wish
to keep power?"
"Both, I suppose," Grant said. "Not that I'd mind retiring myself."
"Retire!" Karins snorted. "You let Bertram's clean babies in the files for two
hours, and none of us will retire to anything better'n a CD prison planet. You
got to be kidding, retire."

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"That may be true," the President said.
"There's other ways," Karins suggested. "General, what happens if Harmon takes
power and starts his war?"
"Mr. Grant knows better than I do," General Carpenter said. When the others
stared at him, Carpenter continued. "No one has ever fought a nuclear war. Why
should the uniform make me more of an expert than you? Maybe we could win.
Heavy casualties, very heavy, but our defenses are good."
Carpenter gestured at the moving lights on the wall projection. "We have
better technology than the Russki's. Our laser guns ought to get most of their
missiles. CD Fleet won't let either of us use space weapons. We might win."
"We might." Lipscomb was grim. "John?"
"We might not win. We might kill more than half the human race. We might get
more. How in God's name do I know what happens when we throw nuclear weapons
around?"
"But the Russians aren't prepared," Commerce said. "If we hit them without
warning—people never change governments in the middle of a war."
President Lipscomb sighed. "I am not going to start a nuclear war to retain
power. Whatever I have done, I have done to keep peace. That is my last
excuse. I could not live with myself if I sacrifice peace to keep power."
Grant cleared his throat gently. "We couldn't do it anyway. If we start
converting defensive missiles to offensive, CoDominium Intelligence would hear
about it in ten days. The Treaty prevents that, you know."
He lit another cigarette. "We aren't the only threat to the CD, anyway.
There's always Kaslov."
Kaslov was a pure Stalinist, who wanted to liberate Earth for Communism. Some
called him the last Communist, but of course he wasn't the last. He had plenty
of followers. Grant could remember a secret conference with Ambassador
Chernikov only weeks ago.
The Soviet was a polished diplomat, but it was obvious that he wanted
something desperately. He wanted the United States to keep the pressure on,
not relax her defenses at the borders of the U.S. sphere of influence, because
if the Communist probes ever took anything from the U.S. without a hard fight,
Kaslov would gain more influence at home. He might even win control of the
Presidium.
"Nationalism everywhere," the President sighed. "Why?"
No one had an answer to that. Harmon gained power in the U.S. and Kaslov in
the Soviet Union; while a dozen petty nationalist leaders gained power in a
dozen other countries. Some thought it started with Japan's nationalistic
revival.
"This is all nonsense," said the Assistant Postmaster General. "We aren't
going to quit and we aren't starting any wars. Now what does it take to get
the support away from Mr. Clean Bertram and funnel it back to us where it
belongs? A good scandal, right? Find Bertram's dirtier than we are, right?
Worked plenty of times before. You can steal people blind if you scream loud
enough about how the other guy's a crook."
"Such as?" Karins prompted.
"Working with the Japs. Giving the Japs nukes, maybe. Supporting Meiji's
independence movement. I'm sure Mr. Grant can arrange something."
Karins nodded vigorously. "That might do it. Disillusion his organizers. The
pro-CoDominium people in his outfit would come to us like a shot."
Karins paused and chuckled. "Course some of them will head for Millington's
bunch, too."
They all laughed. No one worried about Millington's Liberation Party. His
madmen caused riots and kept the taxpayers afraid, and made a number of
security arrangements highly popular. The Liberation Party gave the police
some heads to crack, nice riots for Tri-V to keep the Citizens amused and the
taxpayers happy.
"I think we can safely leave the details to Mr. Grant." Karins grinned
broadly.
"What will you do, John?" the President asked.

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"Do you really want to know, Mr. President?" Moriarty interrupted. "I don't."
"Nor do I, but if I can condone it, I can at least find out what it is. What
will you do, John?"
"Frame-up, I suppose. Get a plot going, then uncover it."
"That?" Moriarty shook his head. "It's got to be good. The people are
beginning to wonder about all these plots."
Grant nodded. "There will be evidence. Hard-core evidence. A secret arsenal of
nuclear weapons."'
There was a gasp. Then Karins grinned widely again. "Oh, man, that's tore it.
Hidden nukes. Real ones, I suppose?"
"Of course." Grant looked with distaste at the fat youth. What would be the
point of fake nuclear weapons? But Karins lived in a world of deception, so
much so that fake weapons might be appropriate in it.
"Better have lots of cops when you break that story," Karins said. "People
hear that, they'll tear Bertram apart."
True enough, Grant thought. It was a point he'd have to remember. Protection
of those kids wouldn't be easy. Not since one militant group atom-bombed
Bakersfield, California, and a criminal syndicate tried to hold Seattle for a
hundred million ransom. People no longer thought of private stocks of atomic
weapons as something to laugh at.
"We won't involve Mr. Bertram personally," the President said grimly. "Not
under any circumstances. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," John answered quickly. He hadn't liked the idea either. "Just some
of his top aides." Grant stubbed out the cigarette. It, or something, had left
a foul taste in his mouth. "I'll have them end up with the CD for final
custody. Sentenced to transportation. My brother can arrange it so they don't
have hard sentences."
"Sure. They can be independent planters on Tanith if they'll cooperate,"
Karins said. "You can see they don't suffer."
Like hell, Grant thought. Life on Tanith was no joy under the best conditions.
"There's one more thing," the President said. "I understand Grand Senator
Bronson wants something from the CD. Some officer was a little too efficient
at uncovering the Bronson family deals, and they want him removed." The
President looked as if he'd tasted sour milk. "I hate this, John. I hate it,
but we need Bronson's support. Can you speak to your brother?"
"I already have," Grant said. "It will be arranged."
* * *
Grant left the meeting a few minutes later. The others could continue in
endless discussion, but Grant saw no point to it. The action needed was clear,
and the longer they waited the more time Bertram would have to assemble his
supporters and harden his support. If something were to be done, it should be
now.
Grant had found all his life that the wrong action taken decisively and in
time was better than the right action taken later. After he reached the
Pentagon he summoned his deputies and issued orders. It took no more than an
hour to set the machinery in motion.
Grant's colleagues always said he was rash, too quick to take action without
examining the consequences. They also conceded that he was lucky. To Grant it
wasn't luck, and he did consider the consequences; but he anticipated events
rather than reacted to crisis. He had known that Bertram's support was growing
alarmingly for weeks and had made contingency plans long before going to the
conference with the President.
Now it was clear that action must be taken immediately. Within days there
would be leaks from the conference. Nothing about the actions to be taken, but
there would be rumors about the alarm and concern. A secretary would notice
that Grant had come back to the Pentagon after dismissing his driver. Another
would see that Karins chuckled more than usual when he left the Oval Office,
or that two political enemies came out together and went off to have a drink.
Another would hear talk about Bertram, and soon it would be all over
Washington: the President was worried about Bertram's popularity.

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Since the leaks were inevitable, he should act while this might work. Grant
dismissed his aides with a sense of satisfaction. He had been ready, and the
crisis would be over before it began. It was only after he was alone that he
crossed the paneled room to the teak cabinet and poured a double Scotch.
* * *
The Maryland countryside slipped past far below as the Cadillac cruised on
autopilot. A ribbon antenna ran almost to Grant's house, and he watched the
twilight scene with as much relaxation as he ever achieved lately. House
lights blinked below, and a few surface cars ran along the roads. Behind him
was the sprawling mass of Columbia Welfare Island where most of those
displaced from Washington had gone. Now the inhabitants were third generation
and had never known any other life.
He grimaced. Welfare Islands were lumps of concrete buildings and roof parks,
containers for the seething resentment of useless lives kept placid by
Government furnished supplies of Tanith hashpot and borloi and American cheap
booze. A man born in one of those complexes could stay there all his life, and
many did.
Grant tried to imagine what it would be like there, but he couldn't. Reports
from his agents gave an intellectual picture, but there was no way to identify
with those people. He could not feel the hopelessness and dulled senses,
burning hatreds, terrors, bitter pride of street gangs.
Karins knew, though. Karins had begun his life in a Welfare Island somewhere
in the Midwest. Karins clawed his way through the schools to a scholarship and
a ticket out forever. He'd resisted stimulants and dope and Tri-V. Was it
worth it? Grant wondered. And of course there was another way out of Welfare,
as a voluntary colonist; but so few took that route now. Once there had been a
lot of them.
The speaker on the dash suddenly came to life cutting off Beethoven in mid
bar. "WARNING. YOU ARE APPROACHING A GUARDED AREA. UNAUTHORIZED CRAFT WILL BE
DESTROYED WITHOUT FURTHER WARNING. IF YOU HAVE LEGITIMATE ERRANDS IN THIS
RESTRICTED AREA, FOLLOW THE GUIDE BEAM TO THE POLICE CHECK STATION. THIS IS A
FINAL WARNING."
The Cadillac automatically turned off course to ride the beam down to State
Police headquarters, and Grant cursed. He activated the mike and spoke softly.
"This is John Grant of Peachem's Bay. Something seems to be wrong with my
transponder."
There was a short pause, then a soft feminine voice came from the dash
speaker. "We are very sorry, Mr. Grant. Your signal is correct. Our
identification unit is out of order. Please proceed to your home."
"Get that damned thing fixed before it shoots down a taxpayer," Grant said.
Ann Arundel County was a Unity stronghold. How long would that last after an
accident like that? He took the manual controls and cut across country,
ignoring regulations. They could only give him a ticket now that they knew who
he was, and his banking computer would pay it without bothering to tell him of
it.
It brought a grim smile to his face. Traffic regulations were broken,
computers noted it and levied fines, other computers paid them, and no human
ever became aware of them. It was only if there were enough tickets
accumulated to bring a warning of license suspension that a taxpayer learned
of the things—unless he liked checking his bank statements himself.
His home lay ahead, a big rambling early twentieth-century place on the cove.
His yacht was anchored offshore, and it gave him a guilty twinge. She wasn't
neglected, but she was too much in the hands of paid crew, too long without
attention from her owner.
Carver, the chauffeur, rushed out to help Grant down from the Cadillac.
Hapwood was waiting in the big library with a glass of sherry. Prince Bismark,
shivering in the presence of his god, put his Doberman head on Grant's lap,
ready to leap into the fire at command.
There was irony in the situation, Grant thought. At home he enjoyed the power
of a feudal lord, but it was limited by how strongly the staff wanted to stay

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out of Welfare. But he only had to lift the Security phone in the corner, and
his real power, completely invisible and limited only by what the President
wanted to find out, would operate. Money gave him the visible power, heredity
gave him the power over the dog; what gave him the real power of the Security
phone?
"What time would you like dinner, sir?" Hapwood asked. "And Miss Sharon is
here with a guest."
"A guest?"
"Yes, sir. A young man, Mr. Allan Torrey, sir."
"Have they eaten?"
"Yes, sir. Miss Ackridge called to say that you would be late for dinner."
"All right, Hapwood. I'll eat now and see Miss Grant and her guest
afterwards."
"Very good, sir. I will inform the cook." Hapwood left the room invisibly.
Grant smiled again. Hapwood was another figure from Welfare and had grown up
speaking a dialect Grant would never recognize. For some reason he had been
impressed by English butlers he'd seen on Tri-V and cultivated their
manner—and now he was known all over the county as the perfect household
manager.
Hapwood didn't know it, but Grant had a record of every cent his butler took
in: kickbacks from grocers and caterers, contributions from the gardeners, and
the surprisingly well-managed investment portfolio. Hapwood could easily
retire to his own house and live the life of a taxpayer investor.
Why? Grant wondered idly. Why does he stay on? It makes life easier for me,
but why? It had intrigued Grant enough to have his agents look into Hapwood,
but the man had no politics other than staunch support for Unity. The only
suspicious thing about his contacts was the refinement with which he extracted
money from every transaction involving Grant's house. Hapwood had no children,
and his sexual needs were satisfied by infrequent visits to the fringe areas
around Welfare.
Grant ate mechanically, hurrying to be through and see his daughter, yet he
was afraid to meet the boy she had brought home. For a moment he thought of
using the Security phone to find out more about him, but he shook his head
angrily. Too much security thinking wasn't good. For once he was going to be a
parent, meeting his daughter's intended and nothing more.
He left his dinner unfinished without thinking how much the remnants of steak
would have cost, or that Hapwood would probably sell them somewhere, and went
to the library. He sat behind the massive Oriental fruitwood desk and had a
brandy.
Behind him and to both sides the walls were lined with book shelves,
immaculate dust-free accounts of the people of dead empires. It had been years
since he had read one. Now all his reading was confined to reports with bright
red covers. The reports told live stories about living people, but sometimes,
late at night, Grant wondered if his country was not as dead as the empires in
his books.
Grant loved his country but hated her people, all of them: Karins and the new
breed, the tranquilized Citizens in their Welfare Islands, the smug taxpayers
grimly holding onto their privileges. What, then, do I love? he wondered. Only
our history, and the greatness that once was the United States, and that's
found only in those books and in old buildings, never in the security reports.
Where are the patriots? All of them have become Patriots, stupid men and women
following a leader toward nothing. Not even glory.
Then Sharon came in. She was a lovely girl, far prettier than her mother had
ever been, but she lacked her mother's poise. She ushered in a tall boy in his
early twenties.
Grant studied the newcomer as they came toward him. Nice-looking boy. Long
hair, neatly trimmed, conservative mustache for these times. Blue and violet
tunic, red scarf . . . a little flashy, but even John Jr. went in for flashy
clothes when he got out of CD uniform.
The boy walked hesitantly, almost timidly, and Grant wondered if it were fear

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of him and his position in the government, or only the natural nervousness of
a young man about to meet his fiancée's wealthy father. The tiny diamond on
Sharon's hand sparkled in the yellow light from the fireplace, and she held
the hand in an unnatural position.
"Daddy, I . . . I've talked so much about him, this is Allan. He's just asked
me to marry him!" She sparkled, Grant saw; and she spoke trustingly, sure of
his approval, never thinking he might object. Grant wondered if Sharon weren't
the only person in the country who didn't fear him. Except for John Jr., who
didn't have to be afraid. John was out of the reach of Grant's Security phone.
The CD Fleet takes care of its own.
At least he's asked her to marry him. He might have simply moved in with her.
Or has he already? Grant stood and extended his hand. "Hello, Allan."
Torrey's grip was firm, but his eyes avoided Grant's. "So you want to marry my
daughter." Grant glanced pointedly at her left hand. "It appears that she
approves the idea."
"Yes, sir. Uh, sir, she wanted to wait and ask you, but I insisted. It's my
fault, sir." Torrey looked up at him this time, almost in defiance.
"Yes." Grant sat again. "Well, Sharon, as long as you're home for the evening,
I wish you'd speak to Hapwood about Prince Bismark. I do not think the animal
is properly fed."
"You mean right now?" she asked. She tightened her small mouth into a pout.
"Really, Daddy, this is Victorian! Sending me out of the room while you talk
to my fiancé!"
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Grant said nothing else, and finally she turned away.
Then: "Don't let him frighten you, Allan. He's about as dangerous as that—as
that moosehead in the trophy room!" She fled before there could be any reply.

IV
They sat awkwardly. Grant left his desk to sit near the fire with Torrey.
Drinks, offer of a smoke, all the usual amenities—he did them all; but finally
Hapwood had brought their refreshments and the door was closed.
"All right, Allan," John Grant began. "Let us be trite and get it over with.
How do you intend to support her?"
Torrey looked straight at him this time. His eyes danced with what Grant was
certain was concealed amusement. "I expect to be appointed to a good post in
the Department of the Interior. I'm a trained engineer."
"Interior?" Grant thought for a second. The answer surprised him—he hadn't
thought the boy was another office seeker. "I suppose it can be arranged."
Torrey grinned. It was an infectious grin, and Grant liked it. "Well, sir,
it's already arranged. I wasn't asking for a job."
"Oh?" Grant shrugged. "I hadn't heard."
"Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources. I took a master's in
ecology."
"That's interesting, but I would have thought I'd have heard of your coming
appointment."
"It won't be official yet, sir. Not until Mr. Bertram is elected President.
For the moment I'm on his staff." The grin was still there, and it was
friendly, not hostile. The boy thought politics was a game. He wanted to win,
but it was only a game.
And he's seen real polls, Grant thought. "Just what do you do for Mr. Bertram,
then?"
Allan shrugged. "Write speeches, carry the mail, run the Xerox—you've been in
campaign headquarters. I'm the guy who gets the jobs no one else wants."
Grant laughed. "I did start as a gopher, but I soon hired my own out of what I
once contributed to the Party. They did not try that trick again with me. I
don't suppose that course is open to you."
"No, sir. My father's a taxpayer, but paying taxes is pretty tough just now—
"Yes." Well, at least he wasn't from a Citizen family. Grant would learn the
details from Ackridge tomorrow, for now the important thing was to get to know
the boy.

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It was difficult. Allan was frank and relaxed, and Grant was pleased to see
that he refused a third drink, but there was little to talk about. Torrey had
no conception of the realities of politics. He was one of Bertram's child
crusaders, and he was out to save the United States from people like John
Grant, although he was too polite to say so.
And I was once that young, Grant thought. I wanted to save the world, but it
was so different then. No one wanted to end the CoDominium when I was young.
We were too happy to have the Second Cold War over with. What happened to the
great sense of relief when we could stop worrying about atomic wars? When I
was young that was all we thought of, that we would be the last generation.
Now they take it for granted that we'll have peace forever. Is peace such a
little thing?
"There's so much to do," Torrey was saying. "The Baja Project, thermal
pollution of the Sea of Cortez! They're killing off a whole ecology just to
create estates for the taxpayers.
"I know it isn't your department, sir, you probably don't even know what
they're doing. But Lipscomb has been in office too long! Corruption, special
interests, it's time we had a genuine two-party system again instead of things
going back and forth between the wings of Unity. It's time for a change, and
Mr. Bertram's the right man, I know he is."
Grant's smile was thin, but he managed it. "You'll hardly expect me to agree
with you," Grant said.
"No, sir."
Grant sighed. "But perhaps you're right at that. I must say I wouldn't mind
retiring, so that I could live in this house instead of merely visiting it on
weekends."
What was the point? Grant wondered. He'd never convince this boy, and Sharon
wanted him. Torrey would drop Bertram after the scandals broke.
And what explanations were there anyway? The Baja Project was developed to aid
a syndicate of taxpayers in the six states of the old former Republic of
Mexico. The Government needed them, and they didn't care about whales and
fish. Shortsighted, yes, and Grant had tried to argue them into changing the
project, but they wouldn't, and politics is the art of the possible.
Finally, painfully, the interview ended. Sharon came in, grinning sheepishly
because she was engaged to one of Bertram's people, but she understood that no
better than Allan Torrey. It was only a game. Bertram would win and Grant
would retire, and no one would be hurt.
How could he tell them that it didn't work that way any longer? Unity wasn't
the cleanest party in the world, but at least it had no fanatics—and all over
the world the causes were rising again. The Friends of the People were on the
move, and it had all happened before, it was all told time and again in those
aseptically clean books on the shelves above him.
* * *
BERTRAM AIDES ARRESTED BY INTERCONTINENTAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION!! IBI RAIDS
SECRET WEAPONS CACHE IN BERTRAM HEADQUARTERS. NUCLEAR WEAPONS HINTED!!!
Chicago, May 15, (UPI)—IBI agents here have arrested five top aides to Senator
Harvey Bertram in what government officials call one of the most despicable
plots ever discovered. . . .
* * *
Grant read the transcript on his desk screen without satisfaction. It had all
gone according to plan, and there was nothing left to do, but he hated it.
At least it was clean. The evidence was there. Bertram's people could have
their trial, challenge jurors, challenge judges. The Government would waive
its rights under the Thirty-first Amendment and let the case be tried under
the old adversary rules. It wouldn't matter.
Then he read the small type below. "Arrested were Gregory Kalamintor,
nineteen, press secretary to Bertram; Timothy Giordano, twenty-two, secretary;
Allan Torrey, twenty-two, executive assistant—" The page blurred, and Grant
dropped his face into his hands.
"My God, what have we done?"

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He hadn't moved when Miss Ackridge buzzed. "Your daughter on four, sir. She
seems upset."
"Yes." Grant punched savagely at the button. Sharon's face swam into view. Her
makeup was ruined by long streaks of tears. She looked older, much like her
mother during one of their—
"Daddy! They've arrested Allan! And I know it isn't true, he wouldn't have
anything to do with nuclear weapons! A lot of Mr. Bertram's people said there
would never be an honest election in this country. They said John Grant would
see to that! I told him they were wrong, but they weren't, were they? You've
done this to stop the election, haven't you?"
There was nothing to say because she was right. But who might be listening? "I
don't know what you're talking about. I've only seen the Tri-V casts about
Allan's arrest, nothing more. Come home, kitten, and we'll talk about it."
"Oh no! You're not getting me where Dr. Pollard can give me a nice friendly
little shot and make me forget about Allan! No! I'm staying with my friends,
and I won't be home, Daddy. And when I go to the newspapers, I think they'll
listen to me. I don't know what to tell them yet, but I'm sure Mr. Bertram's
people will think of something. How do you like that, Mr. God?"
"Anything you tell the press will be lies, Sharon. You know nothing." One of
his assistants had come in and now left the office.
"Lies? Where did I learn to lie?" The screen went blank.
And is it that thin? he wondered. All the trust and love, could it vanish that
fast, was it that thin?
"Sir?" It was Hartman, his assistant.
"Yes?"
"She was calling from Champaign, Illinois. A Bertram headquarters they think
we don't know about. The phone had one of those guaranteed no-trace devices."
"Trusting lot, aren't they?" Grant said. "Have some good men watch that house,
but leave her alone." He stood and felt a wave of nausea so strong that he had
to hold the edge of the desk. "MAKE DAMNED SURE THEY LEAVE HER ALONE. DO YOU
UNDERSTAND?" he shouted.
Hartman went as pale as Grant. The chief hadn't raised his voice to one of his
own people in five years. "Yes, sir, I understand."
"Then get out of here." Grant spoke carefully, in low tones, and the cold
mechanical voice was more terrifying than the shout.
He sat alone and stared at the telephone. What use was its power now?
What can we do? It wasn't generally known that Sharon was engaged to the boy.
He'd talked them out of a formal engagement until the banns could be announced
in the National Cathedral and they could hold a big social party. It had been
something to do for them at the time, but . . .
But what? He couldn't have the boy released. Not that boy. He wouldn't keep
silent as the price of his own freedom. He'd take Sharon to a newspaper within
five minutes of his release, and the resulting headlines would bring down
Lipscomb, Unity, the CoDominium—and the peace. Newsmen would listen to the
daughter of the top secret policeman in the country.
Grant punched a code on the communicator, then another. Grand Admiral
Lermontov appeared on the screen.
"Yes, Mr. Grant?"
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
The conversation was painful, and the long delay while the signals reached the
moon and returned didn't make it easier.
"When is the next CD warship going outsystem? Not a colony ship, and most
especially not a prison ship. A warship."
Another long pause, longer even than the delay. "I suppose anything could be
arranged," the Admiral said. "What do you need?"
"I want . . ." Grant hesitated, but there was no time to be lost. No time at
all. "I want space for two very important political prisoners. A married
couple. The crew is not to know their identity, and anyone who does learn
their identity must stay outsystem for at least five years. And I want them

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set down on a good colony world, a decent place. Sparta, perhaps. No one ever
returns from Sparta. Can you arrange that?"
Grant could see the changes in Lermontov's face as the words reached him. The
Admiral frowned. "It can be done if it is important enough. It will not be
easy."
"It's important enough. My brother Martin will explain everything you'll need
to know later. The prisoners will be delivered tonight, Sergei. Please have
the ship ready. And—and it better not be Saratoga. My son's in that one and
he—he will know one of the prisoners." Grant swallowed hard. "There should be
a chaplain aboard. The kids will be getting married."
Lermontov frowned again, as if wondering if John Grant had gone insane. Yet he
needed the Grants, both of them, and certainly John Grant would not ask such a
favor if it were not vital.
"It will be done," Lermontov said.
"Thank you. I'll also appreciate it if you will see they have a good estate on
Sparta. They are not to know who arranged it. Just have it taken care of and
send the bill to me."
It was all so very simple. Direct his agents to arrest Sharon and conduct her
to CD Intelligence. He wouldn't want to see her first. The attorney general
would send Torrey to the same place and announce that he had escaped.
It wasn't as neat as having all of them convicted in open court, but it would
do, and having one of them a fugitive from justice would even help. It would
be an admission of guilt.
Something inside him screamed again and again that this was his little girl,
the only person in the world who wasn't afraid of him, but Grant refused to
listen. He leaned back in the chair and almost calmly dictated his orders.
He took the flimsy sheet from the writer and his hand didn't tremble at all as
he signed it.
All right, Martin, he thought. All right. I've bought the time you asked for,
you and Sergei Lermontov. Now can you do something with it?

V
2087 a.d.
The landing boat fell away from the orbiting warship. When it had drifted to a
safe distance, retros fired, and after it had entered the thin reaches of the
planet's upper atmosphere, scoops opened in the bows. The thin air was drawn
in and compressed until the stagnation temperature in the ramjet chamber was
high enough for ignition.
The engines lit with a roar of flame. Wings swung out to provide lift at
hypersonic speeds, and the spaceplane turned to streak over empty ocean toward
the continental land mass two thousand kilometers away.
The ship circled over craggy mountains twelve kilometers high, then dropped
low over thickly forested plains. It slowed until it was no longer a danger to
the thin strip of inhabited lands along the ocean shores. The planet's great
ocean was joined to a smaller sea by a nearly landlocked channel no more than
five kilometers across at its widest point, and nearly all of the colonists
lived near the junction of the waters.
Hadley's capital city nestled on a long peninsula at the mouth of that
channel, and the two natural harbors, one in the sea, the other in the ocean,
gave the city the fitting name of Refuge. The name suggested a tranquility the
city no longer possessed.
The ship extended its wings to their fullest reach and floated low over the
calm water of the channel harbor. It touched and settled in. Tugboats raced
across clear blue water. Sweating seamen threw lines and towed the landing
craft to the dock where they secured it.
A long line of CoDominium Marines in garrison uniform marched out of the boat.
They gathered on the gray concrete piers into neat brightly colored lines. Two
men in civilian clothing followed the Marines from the flyer.
They blinked at the unaccustomed blue-white of Hadley's sun. The sun was so
far away that it would have been only a small point if either of them were

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foolish enough to look directly at it. The apparent small size was only an
illusion caused by distance; Hadley received as much illumination from its
hotter sun as Earth does from Sol.
Both men were tall and stood as straight as the Marines in front of them, so
that except for their clothing they might have been mistaken for a part of the
disembarking battalion. The shorter of the two carried luggage for both of
them, and stood respectfully behind; although older he was obviously a
subordinate. They watched as two younger men came uncertainly along the pier.
The newcomers' unadorned blue uniforms contrasted sharply with the bright reds
and golds of the CoDominium Marines milling around them. Already the Marines
were scurrying back into the flyer to carry out barracks bags, weapons, and
all the other personal gear of a light infantry battalion.
The taller of the two civilians faced the uniformed newcomers. "I take it
you're here to meet us?" he asked pleasantly. His voice rang through the noise
on the pier, and it carried easily although he had not shouted. His accent was
neutral, the nearly universal English of non-Russian officers in the
CoDominium Service, and it marked his profession almost as certainly as did
his posture and the tone of command.
The newcomers were uncertain even so. There were a lot of ex-officers of the
CoDominium Space Navy on the beach lately. CD budgets were lower every year.
"I think so," one finally said. "Are you John Christian Falkenberg?"
His name was actually John Christian Falkenberg III, and he suspected that his
grandfather would have insisted on the distinction. "Right. And Sergeant Major
Calvin."
"Pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Lieutenant Banners, and this is Ensign Mowrer.
We're on President Budreau's staff." Banners looked around as if expecting
other men, but there were none except the uniformed Marines. He gave
Falkenberg a slightly puzzled look, then added, "We have transportation for
you, but I'm afraid your men will have to walk. It's about eleven miles."
"Miles." Falkenberg smiled to himself. This was out in the boondocks. "I see
no reason why ten healthy mercenaries can't march eighteen kilometers,
Lieutenant. He turned to face the black shape of the landing boat's entry port
and called to someone inside. "Captain Fast. There is no transportation, but
someone will show you where to march the men. Have them carry all gear."
"Uh, sir, that won't be necessary," the lieutenant protested. "We can
get—well, we have horse-drawn transport for baggage." He looked at Falkenberg
as if he expected him to laugh.
"That's hardly unusual on colony worlds," Falkenberg said. Horses and mules
could be carried as frozen embryos, and they didn't require high-technology
industries to produce more, nor did they need an industrial base to fuel them.
"Ensign Mowrer will attend to it," Lieutenant Banners said. He paused again
and looked thoughtful as if uncertain how to tell Falkenberg something.
Finally he shook his head. "I think it would be wise if you issued your men
their personal weapons, sir. There shouldn't be any trouble on their way to
barracks, but—anyway, ten armed men certainly won't have any problems."
"I see. Perhaps I should go with my troops, Lieutenant. I hadn't known things
were quite this bad on Hadley." Falkenberg's voice was calm and even, but he
watched the junior officers carefully.
"No, sir. They aren't, really. . . . But there's no point in taking chances."
He waved Ensign Mowrer to the landing craft and turned back to Falkenberg. A
large black shape rose from the water outboard of the landing craft. It
splashed and vanished. Banners seemed not to notice, but the Marines shouted
excitedly. "I'm sure the ensign and your officers can handle the
disembarkation, and the President would like to see you immediately, sir."
"No doubt. All right, Banners, lead on. I'll bring Sergeant Major Calvin with
me." He followed Banners down the pier.
There's no point to this farce, Falkenberg thought. Anyone seeing ten armed
men conducted by a Presidential ensign will know they're mercenary troops,
civilian clothes or not. Another case of wrong information.
Falkenberg had been told to keep the status of himself and his men a secret,

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but it wasn't going to work. He wondered if this would make it more difficult
to keep his own secrets.
Banners ushered them quickly through the bustling CoDominium Marine barracks,
past bored guards who half-saluted the Presidential Guard uniform. The Marine
fortress was a blur of activity, every open space crammed with packs and
weapons; the signs of a military force about to move on to another station.
As they were leaving the building, Falkenberg saw an elderly Naval officer.
"Excuse me a moment, Banners." He turned to the CoDominium Navy captain. "They
sent someone for me. Thanks, Ed."
"No problem. I'll report your arrival to the Admiral. He wants to keep track
of you. Unofficially, of course. Good luck, John. God knows you need some
right now. It was a rotten deal."
"It's the way it goes."
"Yeah, but the Fleet used to take better care of its own than that. I'm
beginning to wonder if anyone is safe. Damn Senator—"
"Forget it," Falkenberg interrupted. He glanced back to be sure Lieutenant
Banners was out of earshot. "Pay my respects to the rest of your officers. You
run a good ship."
The captain smiled thinly. "Thanks. From you that's quite a compliment." He
held out his hand and gripped John's firmly. "Look, we pull out in a couple of
days, no more than that. If you need a ride on somewhere I can arrange it. The
goddam Senate won't have to know. We can fix you a hitch to anywhere in CD
territory."
"Thanks, but I guess I'll stay."
"Could be rough here," the captain said.
"And it won't be everywhere else in the CoDominium?" Falkenberg asked. "Thanks
again, Ed." He gave a half-salute and checked himself.
Banners and Calvin were waiting for him, and Falkenberg turned away. Calvin
lifted three personal effects bags as if they were empty and pushed the door
open in a smooth motion. The CD captain watched until they had left the
building, but Falkenberg did not look back.
"Damn them," the captain muttered. "Damn the lot of them."
* * *
"The car's here." Banners opened the rear door of a battered ground effects
vehicle of no discoverable make. It had been cannibalized from a dozen other
machines, and some parts were obviously cut-and-try jobs done by an uncertain
machinist. Banners climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. It
coughed twice, then ran smoothly, and they drove away in a cloud of black
smoke.
They drove past another dock where a landing craft with wings as large as the
entire Marine landing boat was unloading an endless stream of civilian
passengers. Children screamed, and long lines of men and women stared about
uncertainly until they were ungently hustled along by guards in uniforms
matching Banners'. The sour smell of unwashed humanity mingled with the crisp
clean salt air from the ocean beyond. Banners rolled up the windows with an
expression of distaste.
"Always like that," Calvin commented to no one in particular. "Water
discipline in them CoDominium prison ships bein' what it is, takes weeks
dirtside to get clean again."
"Have you ever been in one of those ships?" Banners asked.
"No, sir," Calvin replied. "Been in Marine assault boats just about as bad, I
reckon. But I can't say I fancy being stuffed into no cubicle with ten,
fifteen thousand civilians for six months."
"We may all see the inside of one of those," Falkenberg said. "And be glad of
the chance. Tell me about the situation here, Banners."
"I don't even know where to start, sir," the lieutenant answered. "I—do you
know about Hadley?"
"Assume I don't," Falkenberg said. May as well see what kind of estimate of
the situation the President's officers can make, he thought. He could feel the
Fleet Intelligence report bulging in an inner pocket of his tunic, but those

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reports always left out important details; and the attitudes of the
Presidential Guard could be important to his plans.
"Yes, sir. Well, to begin with, we're a long way from the nearest shipping
lanes—but I guess you knew that. The only real reason we had any merchant
trade was the mines. Thorium, richest veins known anywhere for a while, until
they started to run out.
"For the first few years that's all we had. The mines are up in the hills,
about eighty miles over that way." He pointed to a thin blue line just visible
at the horizon.
"Must be pretty high mountains," Falkenberg said. "What's the diameter of
Hadley? About eighty percent of Earth? Something like that. The horizon ought
to be pretty close."
"Yes, sir. They are high mountains. Hadley is small, but we've got bigger and
better everything here." There was pride in the young officer's voice.
"Them bags seem pretty heavy for a planet this small," Calvin said.
"Hadley's very dense," Banners answered. "Gravity nearly ninety percent
standard. Anyway, the mines are over there, and they have their own spaceport
at a lake nearby. Refuge—that's this city—was founded by the American Express
Company. They brought in the first colonists, quite a lot of them."
"Volunteers?" Falkenberg asked.
"Yes. All volunteers. The usual misfits. I suppose my father was typical
enough, an engineer who couldn't keep up with the rat race and was tired of
Bureau of Technology restrictions on what he could learn. They were the first
wave, and they took the best land. They founded the city and got an economy
going. American Express was paid back all advances within twenty years."
Banners' pride was evident, and Falkenberg knew it had been a difficult job.
"That was, what, fifty years ago?" Falkenberg asked.
"Yes."
They were driving through crowded streets lined with wooden houses and a few
stone buildings. There were rooming houses, bars, sailors' brothels, all the
usual establishments of a dock street, but there were no other cars on the
road. Instead the traffic was all horses and oxen pulling carts, bicycles, and
pedestrians.
The sky above Refuge was clear. There was no trace of smog or industrial
wastes. Out in the harbor tugboats moved with the silent efficiency of
electric power, and there were also wind-driven sailing ships, lobster boats
powered by oars, even a topsail schooner lovely against clean blue water. She
threw up white spume as she raced out to sea. A three-masted, full-rigged ship
was drawn up to a wharf where men loaded her by hand with huge bales of what
might have been cotton.
They passed a wagonload of melons. A gaily dressed young couple waved
cheerfully at them, then the man snapped a long whip at the team of horses
that pulled their wagon. Falkenberg studied the primitive scene and said, "It
doesn't look like you've been here fifty years."
"No." Banners gave them a bitter look. Then he swerved to avoid a group of
shapeless teenagers lounging in the dockside street. He had to swerve again to
avoid the barricade of paving stones that they had masked. The car jounced
wildly. Banners gunned it to lift it higher and headed for a low place in the
barricade. It scraped as it went over the top, then he accelerated away.
Falkenberg took his hand from inside his shirt jacket.
Behind him Calvin was inspecting a submachine gun that had appeared from the
oversized barracks bag he'd brought into the car with him. When Banners said
nothing about the incident, Falkenberg frowned and leaned back in his seat,
listening. The Intelligence reports mentioned lawlessness, but this was as bad
as a Welfare Island on Earth.
"No, we're not much industrialized," Banners continued. "At first there wasn't
any need to develop basic industries. The mines made everyone rich, so we
imported everything we needed. The farmers sold fresh produce to the miners
for enormous prices. Refuge was a service industry town. People who worked
here could soon afford farm animals, and they scattered out across the plains

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and into the forests."
Falkenberg nodded. "Many of them wouldn't care for cities."
"Precisely. They didn't want industry, they'd come here to escape it." Banners
drove in silence for a moment. "Then some blasted CoDominium bureaucrat read
the ecology reports about Hadley. The Population Control Bureau in Washington
decided this was a perfect place for involuntary colonization. The ships were
coming here for the thorium anyway, so instead of luxuries and machinery they
were ordered to carry convicts. Hundreds of thousands of them, Colonel
Falkenberg. For the last ten years there have been better than fifty thousand
people a year dumped in on us."
"And you couldn't support them all," Falkenberg said gently.
"No, sir." Banners' face tightened. He seemed to be fighting tears. "God knows
we try. Every erg the fusion generators can make goes into converting
petroleum into basic protocarb just to feed them. But they're not like the
original colonists! They don't know anything, they won't do anything! Oh, not
really, of course. Some of them work. Some of our best citizens are
transportees. But there are so many of the other kind."
"Why'n't you tell 'em to work or starve?" Calvin asked bluntly. Falkenberg
gave him a cold look, and the sergeant nodded slightly and sank back into his
seat.
"Because the CD wouldn't let us!" Banners shouted. "Damn it, we didn't have
self-government. The CD Bureau of Relocation people told us what to do. They
ran everything . . ."
"We know," Falkenberg said gently. "We've seen the results of Humanity League
influence over BuRelock. My sergeant major wasn't asking you a question, he
was expressing an opinion. Nevertheless, I am surprised. I would have thought
your farms could support the urban population."
"They should be able to, sir." Banners drove in grim silence for a long
minute. "But there's no transportation. The people are here, and most of the
agricultural land is five hundred miles inland. There's arable land closer,
but it isn't cleared. Our settlers wanted to get away from Refuge and
BuRelock. We have a railroad, but bandit gangs keep blowing it up. We can't
rely on Hadley's produce to keep Refuge alive. There are a million people on
Hadley, and half of them are crammed into this one ungovernable city."
They were approaching an enormous bowl-shaped structure attached to a massive
square stone fortress. Falkenberg studied the buildings carefully, them asked
what they were.
"Our stadium," Banners replied. There was no pride in his voice now. "The CD
built it for us. We'd rather have had a new fusion plant, but we got a stadium
that can hold a hundred thousand people."
"Built by the GLC Construction and Development Company, I presume," Falkenberg
said.
"Yes . . . how did you know?"
"I think I saw it somewhere." He hadn't, but it was an easy guess: GLC was
owned by a holding company that was in turn owned by the Bronson family. It
was easy enough to understand why aid sent by the CD Grand Senate would end up
used for something GLC might participate in.
"We have very fine sports teams and racehorses," Banners said bitterly. "The
building next to it is the Presidential Palace. Its architecture is quite
functional."
The Palace loomed up before them, squat and massive; it looked more fortress
than capital building.
The city was more thickly populated as they approached the Palace. The
buildings here were mostly stone and poured concrete instead of wood. Few were
more than three stories high, so that Refuge sprawled far along the shore. The
population density increased rapidly beyond the stadium-palace complex.
Banners was watchful as he drove along the wide streets, but he seemed less
nervous than he had been at dockside.
Refuge was a city of contrasts. The streets were straight and wide, and there
was evidently a good waste-disposal system, but the lower floors of the

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buildings were open shops, and the sidewalks were clogged with market stalls.
Clouds of pedestrians moved through the kiosks and shops.
There was still no motor traffic and no moving pedways. Horse troughs and
hitching posts had been constructed at frequent intervals along with starkly
functional street lights and water distribution towers. The few signs of
technology contrasted strongly with the general primitive air of the city.
A contingent of uniformed men thrust their way through the crowd at a street
crossing. Falkenberg looked at them closely, then at Banners. "Your troops?"
"No, sir. That's the livery of Glenn Foster's household. Officially they're
unorganized reserves of the President's Guard, but they're household troops
all the same." Banners laughed bitterly. "Sounds like something out of a
history book, doesn't it? We're nearly back to feudalism, Colonel Falkenberg.
Anyone rich enough keeps hired bodyguards. They have to. The criminal gangs
are so strong the police don't try to catch anyone under organized protection,
and the judges wouldn't punish them if they were caught."
"And the private bodyguards become gangs in their own right, I suppose."
Banners looked at him sharply. "Yes, sir. Have you seen it before?"
"Yes. I've seen it before." Banners was unable to make out the expression on
Falkenberg's lips.

VI
They drove into the Presidential Palace and received the salutes of the blue
uniformed troopers. Falkenberg noted the polished weapons and precise drill of
the Presidential Guard. There were well-trained men on duty here, but the unit
was small. Falkenberg wondered if they could fight as well as stand guard.
They were local citizens, loyal to Hadley, and would be unlike the CoDominium
Marines he was accustomed to.
He was conducted through a series of rooms in the stone fortress. Each had
heavy metal doors, and several were guardrooms. Falkenberg saw no signs of
government activity until they had passed through the outer layers of the
enormous palace into an open courtyard, and through that to an inner building.
Here there was plenty of activity. Clerks bustled through the halls, and girls
in the draped togas fashionable years before on Earth sat at desks in offices.
Most seemed to be packing desk contents into boxes, and other people scurried
through the corridors. Some offices were empty, their desks covered with fine
dust, and there were plastiboard moving boxes stacked outside them.
There were two anterooms to the President's office. President Budreau was a
tall, thin man with a red pencil mustache and quick gestures. As they were
ushered into the overly ornate room the President looked up from a sheaf of
papers, but his eyes did not focus immediately on his visitors. His face was a
mask of worry and concentration.
"Colonel John Christian Falkenberg, sir," Lieutenant Banners said. "And
Sergeant Major Calvin."
Budreau got to his feet. "Pleased to see you, Falkenberg." His expression told
them differently; he looked at his visitors with faint distaste and motioned
Banners out of the room. When the door closed he asked, "How many men did you
bring with you?"
"Ten, Mr. President. All we could bring aboard the carrier without arousing
suspicion. We were lucky to get that many. The Grand Senate had an inspector
at the loading docks to check for violation of the anti-mercenary codes. If we
hadn't bribed a port official to distract him we wouldn't be here at all.
Calvin and I would be on Tanith as involuntary colonists."
"I see." From his expression he wasn't surprised. John thought Budreau would
have been more pleased if the inspector had caught them. The President tapped
the desk nervously. "Perhaps that will be enough. I understand the ship you
came with also brought the Marines who have volunteered to settle on Hadley.
They should provide the nucleus of an excellent constabulary. Good troops?"
"It was a demobilized battalion," Falkenberg replied. "Those are the troops
the CD didn't want anymore. Could be the scrapings of every guardhouse on
twenty planets. We'll be lucky if there's a real trooper in the lot."

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Budreau's face relaxed into its former mask of depression. Hope visibly
drained from him.
"Surely you have troops of your own," Falkenberg said.
Budreau picked up a sheaf of papers. "It's all here. I was just looking it
over when you came in." He handed the report to Falkenberg. "There's little
encouragement in it, Colonel. I have never thought there was any military
solution to Hadley's problems, and this confirms that fear. If you have only
ten men plus a battalion of forced-labor Marines, the military answer isn't
even worth considering."
Budreau returned to his seat. His hands moved restlessly over the sea of
papers on his desk. "If I were you, Falkenberg, I'd get back on that Navy boat
and forget Hadley."
"Why don't you?"
"Because Hadley's my home! No rabble is going to drive me off the plantation
my grandfather built with his own hands. They will not make me run out."
Budreau clasped his hands together until the knuckles were white with the
strain, but when he spoke again his voice was calm. "You have no stake here. I
do."
Falkenberg took the report from the desk and leafed through the pages before
handing it to Calvin. "We've come a long way, Mr. President. You may as well
tell me what the problem is before I leave."
Budreau nodded sourly. The red mustache twitched and he ran the back of his
hand across it. "It's simple enough. The ostensible reason you're here, the
reason we gave the Colonial Office for letting us recruit a planetary
constabulary, is the bandit gangs out in the hills. No one knows how many of
them there are, but they are strong enough to raid farms. They also cut
communications between Refuge and the countryside whenever they want to."
"Yes." Falkenberg stood in front of the desk because he hadn't been invited to
sit. If that bothered him it did not show. "Guerrilla gangsters have no real
chance if they've no political base."
Budreau nodded. "But, as I am sure Vice President Bradford told you, they are
not the real problem." The President's voice was strong, but there was a
querulous note in it, as if he was accustomed to having his conclusions argued
against and was waiting for Falkenberg to begin. "Actually, we could live with
the bandits, but they get political support from the Freedom Party. My
Progressive Party is larger than the Freedom Party, but the Progressives are
scattered all over the planet. The FP is concentrated right here in Refuge,
and they have God knows how many voters and about forty thousand loyalists
they can concentrate whenever they want to stage a riot."
"Do you have riots very often?" John asked.
"Too often. There's not much to control them with. I have three hundred men in
the Presidential Guard, but they're CD recruited and trained like young
Banners. They're not much use at riot control, and they're loyal to the job,
not to me, anyway. The FP's got men inside the guard."
"So we can scratch the President's Guard when it comes to controlling the
Freedom Party," John observed.
"Yes." Budreau smiled without amusement. "Then there's my police force. My
police were all commanded by CD officers who are pulling out. My
administrative staff was recruited and trained by BuRelock, and all the
competent people have been recalled to Earth."
"I can see that would create a problem."
"Problem? It's impossible," Budreau said. "There's nobody left with skill
enough to govern, but I've got the job and everybody else wants it. I might be
able to scrape up a thousand Progressive partisans and another fifteen
thousand party workers who would fight for us in a pinch, but they have no
training. How can they face the FP's forty thousand?"
"You seriously believe the Freedom Party will revolt?"
"As soon as the CD's out, you can count on it. They've demanded a new
constitutional convention to assemble just after the CoDominium Governor
leaves. If we don't give them the convention they'll rebel and carry a lot of

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undecided with them. After all, what's unreasonable about a convention when
the colonial governor has gone?"
"I see."
"And if we do give them the convention they want, they'll drag things out
until there's nobody left in it but their people. My Party is composed of
working voters. How can they stay on day after day? The FR's unemployed will
sit it out until they can throw the Progressives out of office. Once they get
in they'll ruin the planet. Under the circumstances I don't see what a
military man can do for us, but Vice President Bradford insisted that we hire
you."
"Perhaps we can think of something," Falkenberg said smoothly. "I've no
experience in administration as such, but Hadley is not unique. I take it the
Progressive Party is mostly old settlers?"
"Yes and no. The Progressive Party wants to industrialize Hadley, and some of
our farm families oppose that. But we want to do it slowly. We'll close most
of the mines and take out only as much thorium as we have to sell to get the
basic industrial equipment. I want to keep the rest for our own fusion
generators, because we'll need it later.
"We want to develop agriculture and transport, and cut the basic citizen
ration so that we'll have the fusion power available for our new industries. I
want to close out convenience and consumer manufacturing and keep it closed
until we can afford it." Budreau's voice rose and his eyes shone; it was
easier to see why he had become popular. He believed in his cause.
"We want to build the tools of a self-sustaining world and get along without
the CoDominium until we can rejoin the human race as equals!" Budreau caught
himself and frowned. "Sorry. Didn't mean to make a speech. Have a seat, won't
you?"
"Thank you." Falkenberg sat in a heavy leather chair and looked around the
room. The furnishings were ornate, and the office decor had cost a fortune to
bring from Earth; but most of it was tasteless—spectacular rather than
elegant. The Colonial Office did that sort of thing a lot, and Falkenberg
wondered which Grand Senator owned the firm that supplied office furnishings.
"What does the opposition want?"
"I suppose you really do need to know all this." Budreau frowned and his
mustache twitched nervously. He made an effort to relax, and John thought the
President had probably been an impressive man once. "The Freedom Party's
slogan is 'Service to the People.' Service to them means consumer goods now.
They want strip mining. That's got the miners' support, you can bet. The FP
will rape this planet to buy goods from other systems, and to hell with how
they're paid for. Runaway inflation will be only one of the problems they'll
create."
"They sound ambitious."
"Yes. They even want to introduce internal combustion engine economy. God
knows how, there's no support technology here, but there's oil. We'd have to
buy all that from off planet, there's no heavy industry here to make engines
even if the ecology could absorb them, but that doesn't matter to the FP. They
promise cars for everyone. Instant modernization. More food, robotic
factories, entertainment . . . in short, paradise and right now."
"Do they mean it, or is that just slogans?"
"I think most of them mean it," Budreau answered. "It's hard to believe, but I
think they do."
"Where do they say they'll get the money?"
"Soaking the rich, as if there were enough wealthy people here to matter.
Total confiscation of everything everyone owns wouldn't pay for all they
promise. Those people have no idea of the realities of our situation, and
their leaders are ready to blame anything that's wrong on the Progressive
Party, CoDominium administrators, anything but admit that what they promise
just isn't possible. Some of the Party leaders may know better, but they don't
admit it if they do."
"I take it that program has gathered support."

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"Of course it has," Budreau fumed. "And every BuRelock ship brings thousands
more ready to vote the FP line."
Budreau got up from his desk and went to a cabinet on the opposite wall. He
took out a bottle of brandy and three glasses and poured, handing them to
Calvin and Falkenberg. Then he ignored the sergeant but waited for Falkenberg
to lift his glass.
"Cheers." Budreau drained the glass at one gulp. "Some of the oldest families
on Hadley have joined the damned Freedom Party. They're worried about the
taxes I've proposed! The FP won't leave them anything at all, but they still
join the opposition in hopes of making deals. You don't look surprised."
"No, sir. It's a story as old as history, and a military man reads history."
Budreau looked up in surprise. "Really?"
"A smart soldier wants to know the causes of wars. Also how to end them. After
all, war is the normal state of affairs, isn't it? Peace is the name of the
ideal we deduce from the fact that there have been interludes between wars."
Before Budreau could answer, Falkenberg said, "No matter. I take it you expect
armed resistance immediately after the CD pulls out."
"I hoped to prevent it. Bradford thought you might be able to do something,
and I'm gifted at the art of persuasion." The President sighed. "But it seems
hopeless. They don't want to compromise. They think they can get a total
victory."
"I wouldn't think they'd have much of a record to run on," Falkenberg said.
Budreau laughed. "The FP partisans claim credit for driving the CoDominium
out, Colonel."
They laughed together. The CoDominium was leaving because the mines were no
longer worth enough to make it pay to govern Hadley. If the mines were as
productive as they'd been in the past, no partisans would drive the Marines
away.
Budreau nodded as if reading his thoughts. "Well, they have people believing
it anyway. There was a campaign of terrorism for years, nothing very serious.
It didn't threaten the mine shipments, or the Marines would have put a stop to
it. But they have demoralized the capital police. Out in the bush people
administer their own justice, but here in Refuge the FP gangs control a lot of
the city."
Budreau pointed to a stack of papers on one corner of the desk. "Those are
resignations from the force. I don't even know how many police I'll have left
when the CD pulls out." Budreau's fist tightened as if he wanted to pound on
the desk, but he sat rigidly still. "Pulls out. For years they ran everything,
and now they're leaving us to clean up. I'm President by courtesy of the
CoDominium. They put me in office, and now they're leaving."
"At least you're in charge," Falkenberg said. "The BuRelock people wanted
someone else. Bradford talked them out of it."
"Sure. And it cost us a lot of money. For what? Maybe it would have been
better the other way."
"I thought you said their policies would ruin Hadley."
"I did say that. I believe it. But the policy issues came after the split, I
think." Budreau was talking to himself as much as to John. "Now they hate us
so much they oppose anything we want out of pure spite. And we do the same
thing."
"Sounds like CoDominium politics. Russkis and U.S. in the Grand Senate. Just
like home." There was no humor in the polite laugh that followed.
Budreau opened a desk drawer and took out a parchment. "I'll keep the
agreement, of course. Here's your commission as commander of the constabulary.
But I still think you might be better off taking the next ship out. Hadley's
problems can't be solved by military consultants."
Sergeant Major Calvin snorted. The sound was almost inaudible, but Falkenberg
knew what he was thinking. Budreau shrank from the bald term "mercenary," as
if "military consultant" were easier on his conscience. John finished his
drink and stood.
"Mr. Bradford wants to see you," Budreau said. "Lieutenant Banners will be

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outside to show you to his office."
"Thank you, sir." Falkenberg strode from the big room. As he closed the door
he saw Budreau going back to the liquor cabinet.
* * *
Vice President Ernest Bradford was a small man with a smile that never seemed
to fade. He worked at being liked, but it didn't always work. Still, he had
gathered a following of dedicated party workers, and he fancied himself an
accomplished politician.
When Banners showed Falkenberg into the office, Bradford smiled even more
broadly, but he suggested that Banners should take Calvin on a tour of the
Palace guardrooms. Falkenberg nodded and let them go.
The Vice President's office was starkly functional. The desks and chairs were
made of local woods with an indifferent finish, and a solitary rose in a
crystal vase provided the only color. Bradford was dressed in the same manner,
shapeless clothing bought from a cheap store.
"Thank God you're here," Bradford said when the door was closed. "But I'm told
you only brought ten men. We can't do anything with just ten men! You were
supposed to bring over a hundred men loyal to us!" He bounced up excitedly
from his chair, then sat again. "Can you do something?"
"There were ten men in the Navy ship with me," Falkenberg said. "When you show
me where I'm to train the regiment I'll find the rest of the mercenaries."
Bradford gave him a broad wink and beamed. "Then you did bring more! We'll
show them—all of them. We'll win yet. What did you think of Budreau?"
"He seems sincere enough. Worried, of course. I think I would be in his
place."
Bradford shook his head. "He can't make up his mind. About anything! He wasn't
so bad before, but lately he's had to be forced into making every decision.
Why did the Colonial Office pick him? I thought you were going to arrange for
me to be President. We gave you enough money."
"One thing at a time," Falkenberg said. "The Undersecretary couldn't justify
you to the Minister. We can't get to everyone, you know. It was hard enough
for Professor Whitlock to get them to approve Budreau, let alone you. We
sweated blood just getting them to let go of having a Freedom Party
President."
Bradford's head bobbed up and down like a puppet's. "I knew I could trust
you," he said. His smile was warm, but despite all his efforts to be sincere
it did not come through. "You have kept your part of the bargain, anyway. And
once the CD is gone—"
"We'll have a free hand, of course,"
Bradford smiled again. "You are a very strange man, Colonel Falkenberg. The
talk was that you were utterly loyal to the CoDominium. When Dr. Whitlock
suggested that you might be available I was astounded."
"I had very little choice," Falkenberg reminded him.
"Yes." Bradford didn't say that Falkenberg had little more now, but it was
obvious that he thought it. His smile expanded confidentially. "Well, we have
to let Mr. Hamner meet you now. He's the Second Vice President. Then we can go
to the Warner estate. I've arranged for your troops to be quartered there,
it's what you wanted for a training ground. No one will bother you. You can
say your other men are local volunteers."
Falkenberg nodded. "I'll manage. I'm getting rather good at cover stories
lately."
"Sure." Bradford beamed again. "By God, we'll win this yet." He touched a
button on his desk. "Ask Mr. Hamner to come in, please." He winked at
Falkenberg and said, "Can't spend too long alone. Might give someone the idea
that we have a conspiracy."
"How does Hamner fit in?" Falkenberg asked.
"Wait until you see him. Budreau trusts him, and he's dangerous. He represents
the technology people in the Progressive Party. We can't do without him, but
his policies are ridiculous. He wants to turn loose of everything. If he has
his way, there won't be any government. And his people take credit for

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everything—as if technology was all there was to government. He doesn't know
the first thing about governing. All the people we have to keep happy, the
meetings, he thinks that's all silly, that you can build a party by working
like an engineer."
"In other words, he doesn't understand the political realities," Falkenberg
said. "Just so. I suppose he has to go, then."
Bradford nodded, smiling again. "Eventually. But we do need his influence with
the technicians at the moment. And of course, he knows nothing about any
arrangements you and I have made."
"Of course." Falkenberg sat easily and studied maps until the intercom
announced that Hamner was outside. He wondered idly if the office was safe to
talk in. Bradford was the most likely man to plant devices in other people's
offices, but he couldn't be the only one who'd benefit from eavesdropping, and
no place could be absolutely safe.
There isn't much I can do if it is, Falkenberg decided. And it's probably
clean.
George Hamner was a large man, taller than Falkenberg and even heavier than
Sergeant Major Calvin. He had the relaxed movements of a big man, and much of
the easy confidence that massive size usually wins. People didn't pick fights
with George Hamner. His grip was gentle when they shook hands, but he closed
his fist relentlessly, testing Falkenberg carefully. As he felt answering
pressure he looked surprised, and the two men stood in silence for a long
moment before Hamner relaxed and waved to Bradford.
"So you're our new colonel of constabulary," Hamner said. "Hope you know what
you're getting into. I should say I hope you don't know. If you know about our
problems and take the job anyway, we'll have to wonder if you're sane."
"I keep hearing about how severe Hadley's problems are," Falkenberg said. "If
enough of you keep saying it, maybe I'll believe it's hopeless, but right now
I don't see it. So we're outnumbered by the Freedom Party people. What kind of
weapons do they have to make trouble with?"
Hamner laughed. "Direct sort of guy, aren't you? I like that. There's nothing
spectacular about their weapons, just a lot of them. Enough small problems
make a big problem, right? But the CD hasn't permitted any big stuff. No tanks
or armored cars, hell, there aren't enough cars of any kind to make any
difference. No fuel or power distribution net ever built, so no way cars would
be useful. We've got a subway, couple of monorails for in-city stuff, and
what's left of the railroad . . . you didn't ask for a lecture on
transportation, did you?"
"No."
Hamner laughed. "It's my pet worry at the moment. We don't have enough. Let's
see, weapons . . ." The big man sprawled into a chair. He hooked one leg over
the arm and ran his fingers through thick hair just receding from his large
brows. "No military aircraft, hardly any aircraft at all except for a few
choppers. No artillery, machine guns, heavy weapons in general. Mostly
light-caliber hunting rifles and shotguns. Some police weapons. Military
rifles and bayonets, a few, and we have almost all of them. Out in the streets
you can find anything, Colonel, and I mean literally anything. Bows and
arrows, knives, swords, axes, hammers, you name it."
"He doesn't need to know about obsolete things like that," Bradford said. His
voice was heavy with contempt, but he still wore his smile.
"No weapon is ever really obsolete," Falkenberg said. "Not in the hands of a
man who'll use it. What about body armor? How good a supply of Nemourlon do
you have?"
Hamner looked thoughtful for a second. "There's some body armor in the
streets, and the police have some. The President's Guard doesn't use the
stuff. I can supply you with Nemourlon, but you'll have to make your own armor
out of it. Can you do that?"
Falkenberg nodded. "Yes. I brought an excellent technician and some tools.
Gentlemen, the situation's about what I expected. I can't see why everyone is
so worried. We have a battalion of CD Marines, not the best Marines perhaps,

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but they're trained soldiers. With the weapons of a light infantry battalion
and the training I can give the recruits we'll add to the battalion, I'll
undertake to face your forty thousand Freedom Party people. The guerrilla
problem will be somewhat more severe, but we control all the food distribution
in the city. With ration cards and identity papers it should not be difficult
to set up controls."
Hamner laughed. It was a bitter laugh. "You want to tell him, Ernie?"
Bradford looked confused. "Tell him what?"
Hamner laughed again. "Not doing your homework. It's in the morning report for
a couple of days ago. The Colonial Office has decided, on the advice of
BuRelock, that Hadley does not need any military weapons. The CD Marines will
be lucky to keep their rifles and bayonets. All the rest of their gear goes
out with the CD ships."
"But this is insane." Bradford protested. He turned to Falkenberg. "Why would
they do that?"
Falkenberg shrugged. "Perhaps some Freedom Party manager got to a Colonial
Office official. I assume they are not above bribery?"
"Of course not," Bradford said. "We've got to do something!"
"If we can. I suspect it will not be easy." Falkenberg pursed his lips into a
tight line. "I hadn't counted on this. It means that if we tighten up control
through food rationing and identity documents, we face armed rebellion. How
well organized are these FP partisans, anyway?"
"Well organized and well financed," Hamner said. "And I'm not so sure about
ration cards being the answer to the guerrilla problem anyway. The CoDominium
was able to put up with a lot of sabotage because they weren't interested in
anything but the mines, but we can't live with the level of terror we have
right now in this city. Some way or other we have to restore order—and
justice, for that matter."
"Justice isn't something soldiers ordinarily deal with," Falkenberg said.
"Order's another matter. That I think we can supply."
"With a few hundred men?" Hamner's voice was incredulous. "But I like your
attitude. At least you don't sit around and whine for somebody to help you. Or
sit and think and never make up your mind."
"We will see what we can do," Falkenberg said.
"Yeah." Hamner got up and went to the door. "Well, I wanted to meet you,
Colonel. Now I have. I've got work to do. I'd think Ernie does too, but I
don't notice him doing much of it." He didn't look at them again, but went
out, leaving the door open.
"You see," Bradford said. He closed the door gently. His smile was knowing.
"He is useless. We'll find someone to deal with the technicians as soon as
you've got everything else under control."
"He seemed to be right on some points," Falkenberg said. "For example, he
knows it won't be easy to get proper police protection established. I saw an
example of what goes on in Refuge on the way here, and if it's that bad all
over—
"You'll find a way," Bradford said. He seemed certain. "You can recruit quite
a large force, you know. And a lot of the lawlessness is nothing more than
teenage street gangs. They're not loyal to anything. Freedom Party, us, the
CD, or anything else. They merely want to control the block they live on."
"Sure. But they're hardly the whole problem."
"No. But you'll find a way. And forget Hamner. His whole group is rotten.
They're not real Progressives, that's all." His voice was emphatic, and his
eyes seemed to shine. Bradford lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Hamner
used to be in the Freedom Party, you know. He claims to have broken with them
over technology policies, but you can never trust a man like that."
"I see. Fortunately, I don't have to trust him."
Bradford beamed. "Precisely. Now let's get you started. You have a lot of
work, and don't forget now, you've already agreed to train some party troops
for me."

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VII
The estate was large, nearly five kilometers on a side, located in low hills a
day's march from the city of Refuge. There was a central house and barns, all
made of local wood that resembled oak. The buildings nestled in a wooded bowl
in the center of the estate.
"You're sure you won't need anything more?" Lieutenant Banners asked.
"No, thank you," Falkenberg said. "The few men we have with us carry their own
gear. We'll have to arrange for food and fuel when the others come, but for
now we'll make do."
"All right, sir," Banners said. "I'll go back with Mowrer and leave you the
car, then. And you've the animals. . . ."
"Yes. Thank you, Lieutenant."
Banners saluted and got into the car. He started to say something else, but
Falkenberg had turned away and Banners drove off the estate.
Calvin watched him leave. "That's a curious one," he said. "Reckon he'd like
to know more about what we're doing."
Falkenberg's lips twitched into a thin smile. "I expect he would at that. You
will see to it that he learns no more than we want him to."
"Aye aye, sir. Colonel, what was that Mr. Bradford was saying about Party
troopers? We going to have many of them?"
"I think so." Falkenberg walked up the wide lawn toward the big ranch house.
Captain Fast and several of the others were waiting on the porch, and there
was a bottle of whiskey on the table.
Falkenberg poured a drink and tossed it off. "I think we'll have quite a few
Progressive Party loyalists here once we start, Calvin. I'm not looking
forward to it, but they were inevitable."
"Sir?" Captain Fast had been listening quietly.
Falkenberg gave him a half-smile. "Do you really think the governing
authorities are going to hand over a monopoly of military force to us?"
"You think they don't trust us."
"Amos, would you trust us?"
"No sir," Captain Fast said. "But we could hope."
"We will not accomplish our mission on hope, Captain. Sergeant Major."
"Sir."
"I have an errand for you later this evening. For the moment, find someone to
take me to my quarters and then see about our dinner."
"Sir."
* * *
Falkenberg woke to a soft rapping on the door of his room. He opened his eyes
and put his hand on the pistol under his pillow, but made no other movement.
The rap came again. "Yes," Falkenberg called softly.
"I'm back, Colonel," Calvin answered.
"Right. Come in." Falkenberg swung his feet out of his bunk and pulled on his
boots. He was fully dressed otherwise.
Sergeant Major Calvin came in. He was dressed in the light synthetic leather
tunic and trousers of the CD Marine battledress. The total black of a night
combat coverall protruded from the war bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a
pistol on his belt and a heavy trench knife was slung in a holster on his left
breast.
A short wiry man with a thin brown mustache came in with Calvin.
"Glad to see you," Falkenberg said. "Have any trouble?"
"Gang of toughs tried to stir up something as we was coming through the city,
Colonel," Calvin replied. He grinned wolfishly. "Didn't last long enough to
set any records."
"Anyone hurt?"
"None that couldn't walk away."
"Good. Any problem at the relocation barracks?"
"No, sir," Calvin replied. "They don't guard them places. Anybody wants to get
away from BuRelock's charity, they let 'em go. Without ration cards, of
course. This was just involuntary colonists, not convicts."

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As he took Calvin's report, Falkenberg was inspecting the man who had come in
with him. Major Jeremy Savage looked tired and much older than his forty-five
years. He was thinner than John remembered him.
"Bad as I've heard?" Falkenberg asked him.
"No picnic," Savage replied in the clipped accents he'd learned when he grew
up on Churchill. "Didn't expect it to be. We're here, John Christian."
"Yes, and thank God. Nobody spotted you? The men behave all right?"
"Yes, sir. We were treated no differently from any other involuntary
colonists. The men behaved splendidly, and a week or two of hard exercise
should get us all back in shape. Sergeant Major tells me the battalion arrived
intact."
"Yes. They're still at Marine barracks. That's our weak link, Jeremy. I want
them out here where we control who they talk to, and as soon as possible."
"You've got the best ones. I think they'll be all right."
Falkenberg nodded. "But keep your eyes open, Jerry, and be careful with the
men until the CD pulls out. I've hired Dr. Whitlock to check things for us. He
hasn't reported in yet, but I assume he's on Hadley."
Savage acknowledged Falkenberg's wave and sat in the room's single chair. He
took a glass of whiskey from Calvin with a nod of thanks.
"Going all out hiring experts, eh? He's said to be the best available. . . .
My, that's good. They don't have anything to drink on those BuRelock ships."
"When Whitlock reports in we'll have a full staff meeting," Falkenberg said.
"Until then, stay with the plan. Bradford is supposed to send the battalion
out tomorrow, and soon after that he'll begin collecting volunteers from his
party. We're supposed to train them. Of course, they'll all be loyal to
Bradford. Not to the Party and certainly not to us."
Savage nodded and held out the glass to Calvin for a refill.
"Now tell me a bit about those toughs you fought on the way here, Sergeant
Major," Falkenberg said.
"Street gang, Colonel. Not bad at individual fightin', but no organization.
Hardly no match for near a hundred of us."
"Street gang." John pulled his lower lip speculatively, then grinned. "How
many of our battalion used to be punks just like them, Sergeant Major?"
"Half anyway, sir. Includin' me."
Falkenberg nodded. "I think it might be a good thing if the Marines got to
meet some of those kids, Sergeant Major. Informally, you know."
"Sir!" Calvin's square face beamed with anticipation.
"Now," Falkenberg continued. "Recruits will be our real problem. You can bet
some of them will try to get chummy with the troops. They'll want to pump the
men about their backgrounds and outfits. And the men will drink, and when they
drink they talk. How will you handle that, Top Soldier?"
Calvin looked thoughtful. "Won't be no trick for a while. We'll keep the
recruits away from the men except drill instructors, and DIs don't talk to
recruits. Once they've passed basic it'll get a bit stickier, but hell,
Colonel, troops like to lie about their campaigns. We'll just encourage 'em to
fluff it up a bit. The stories'll be so tall nobody'll believe 'em."
"Right. I don't have to tell both of you we're skating on pretty thin ice for
a while."
"We'll manage, Colonel." Calvin was positive. He'd been with Falkenberg a long
time, and although any man can make mistakes, it was Calvin's experience that
Falkenberg would find a way out of any hole they dropped into.
And if they didn't—well, over every CD orderly room door was a sign. It said,
"You are Marines in order to die, and the Fleet will send you where you can
die." Calvin had walked under that sign to enlist, and thousands of times
since.
"That's it, then, Jeremy," Falkenberg said.
"Yes, sir," Savage said crisply. He stood and saluted. "Damned if it doesn't
feel good to be doing this again, sir." Years fell away from his face.
"Good to have you back aboard," Falkenberg replied. He stood to return the
salute. "And thanks, Jerry. For everything. . . ."

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* * *
The Marine battalion arrived the next day. They were marched to the camp by
regular CD Marine officers, who turned them over to Falkenberg. The captain in
charge of the detail wanted to stay around and watch, but Falkenberg found an
errand for him and sent Major Savage along to keep him company. An hour later
there was no one in the camp but Falkenberg's people.
Two hours later the troops were at work constructing their own base camp.
Falkenberg watched from the porch of the ranch house. "Any problems, Sergeant
Major?" he asked.
Calvin fingered the stubble on his square jaw. He shaved twice a day on
garrison duty, and at the moment he was wondering if he needed his second.
"Nothing a trooper's blast won't cure, Colonel. With your permission I'll draw
a few barrels of whiskey tonight and let 'em tie one on before the recruits
come in."
"Granted."
"They won't be fit for much before noon tomorrow, but we're on schedule now.
The extra work'll be good for 'em."
"How many will run?"
Calvin shrugged. "Maybe none, Colonel. We got enough to keep 'em busy, and
they don't know this place very well. Recruits'll be a different story, and
once they get in we may have a couple take off."
"Yes. Well, see what you can do. We're going to need every man. You heard
President Budreau's assessment of the situation."
"Yes, sir. That'll make the troops happy. Sounds like a good fight comin' up."
"I think you can safely promise the men some hard fighting, Sergeant Major.
They'd also better understand that there's no place to go if we don't win this
one. No pickups on this tour."
"No pickups on half the missions we've been on, Colonel. I better see Cap'n
Fast about the brandy. Join us about midnight, sir? The men would like that."
"I'll be along, Sergeant Major."
* * *
Calvin's prediction was wrong: the troops were useless throughout the entire
next day. The recruits arrived the day after.
The camp was a flurry of activity. The Marines relearned lessons of basic
training. Each maniple of five men cooked for itself, did its own laundry,
made its own shelters from woven synthetics and rope, and contributed men for
work on the encampment revetments and palisades.
The recruits did the same kind of work under the supervision of Falkenberg's
mercenary officers and NCOs. Most of the men who had come with Savage on the
BuRelock colony transport were officers, centurions, sergeants, and
technicians, while there was an unusual number of monitors and corporals
within the Marine battalion. Between the two groups there were enough leaders
for an entire regiment.
The recruits learned to sleep in their military great-cloaks, and to live
under field conditions with no uniform but synthi-leather battledress and
boots. They cooked their own food and constructed their own quarters and
depended on no one outside the regiment. After two weeks they were taught to
fashion their own body armor from Nemourlon. When it was completed they lived
in it, and any man who neglected his duties found his armor weighted with
lead. Maniples, squads, and whole sections of recruits and veterans on
punishment marches became a common sight after dark.
The volunteers had little time to fraternize with the Marine veterans. Savage
and Calvin and the other cadres relentlessly drove them through drills, field
problems, combat exercises, and maintenance work. The recruit formations were
smaller each day as men were driven to leave the service, but from somewhere
there was a steady supply of new troops.
These were all younger men who came in small groups directly to the camp. They
would appear before the regimental orderly room at reveille, and often they
were accompanied by Marine veterans. There was attrition in their formations
as well as among the Party volunteers, but far fewer left the service—and they

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were eager for combat training.
After six weeks Vice President Bradford visited the camp. He arrived to find
the entire regiment in formation, the recruits on one side of a square, the
veterans on the other.
Sergeant Major Calvin was reading to the men.
"Today is April 30 on Earth." Calvin's voice boomed out; he had no need for a
bullhorn. "It is Camerone Day. On April 30, 1863, Captain Jean Danjou of the
Foreign Legion, with two officers and sixty-two legionnaires, faced two
thousand Mexicans at the farmhouse of Camerone.
"The battle lasted all day. The legionnaires had no food or water, and their
ammunition was low. Captain Danjou was killed. His place was taken by
Lieutenant Villain. He also was killed.
"At five in the afternoon all that remained were Lieutenant Clement Maudet and
four men. They had one cartridge each. At the command each man fired his last
round and charged the enemy with the bayonet.
"There were no survivors."
The troops were silent. Calvin looked at the recruits. They stood at rigid
attention in the hot sun. Finally Calvin spoke. "I don't expect none of you to
ever get it. Not the likes of you. But maybe one of you'll someday know what
Camerone is all about.
"Every man will draw an extra wine ration tonight. Combat veterans will also
get a half-liter of brandy. Now attention to orders."
Falkenberg took Bradford inside the ranch house. It was now fitted out as the
Officers' Mess, and they sat in one corner of the lounge. A steward brought
drinks.
"And what was all that for?" Bradford demanded. "These aren't Foreign
Legionnaires! You're supposed to be training a planetary constabulary."
"A constabulary that has one hell of a fight on its hands," Falkenberg
reminded him. "True, we don't have any continuity with the Legion in this
outfit, but you have to remember that our basic cadre are CD Marines. Or were.
If we skipped Camerone Day, we'd have a mutiny."
"I suppose you know what you're doing." Bradford sniffed. His face had almost
lost the perpetual half-smile he wore, but there were still traces of it.
"Colonel, I have a complaint from the men we've assigned as officers. My
Progressive Party people have been totally segregated from the other troops,
and they don't like it. I don't like it."
Falkenberg shrugged. "You chose to commission them before training, Mr.
Bradford. That makes them officers by courtesy, but they don't know anything.
They would look ridiculous if I mixed them with the veterans, or even the
recruits, until they've learned military basics."
"You've got rid of a lot of them, too—"
"Same reason, sir. You have given us a difficult assignment. We're outnumbered
and there's no chance of outside support. In a few weeks we'll face forty
thousand Freedom Party men, and I won't answer for the consequences if we
hamper the troops with incompetent officers."
"All right. I expected that. But it isn't just the officers, Colonel. The
Progressive volunteers are being driven out as well. Your training is too
hard. Those are loyal men, and loyalty is important here!"
Falkenberg smiled softly. "Agreed. But I'd rather have one battalion of good
men I can trust than a regiment of troops who might break under fire. After
I've a bare minimum of first-class troops, I'll consider taking on others for
garrison duties. Right now the need is for men who can fight."
"And you don't have them yet—those Marines seemed well disciplined."
"In ranks, certainly. But do you really think the CD would let go of reliable
troops?"
"Maybe not," Bradford conceded. "OK. You're the expert. But where the hell are
you getting the other recruits? Jailbirds, kids with police records. You keep
them while you let my Progressives run!"
"Yes, sir." Falkenberg signaled for another round of drinks. "Mr. Vice
President—"

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"Since when have we become that formal?" Bradford asked. His smile was back.
"Sorry. I thought you were here to read me out."
"No, of course not. But I've got to answer to President Budreau, you know. And
Hamner. I've managed to get your activities assigned to my department, but it
doesn't mean I can tell the Cabinet to blow it."
"Right," Falkenberg said. "Well, about the recruits. We take what we can get.
It takes time to train green men, and if the street warriors stand up better
than your party toughs, I can't help it. You can tell the Cabinet that when
we've a cadre we can trust, we'll be easier on volunteers. We can even form
some kind of part-time militia. But right now the need is for men tough enough
to win this fight coming up, and I don't know any better way to do it."
After that Falkenberg found himself summoned to report to the Palace every
week. Usually he met only Bradford and Hamner; President Budreau had made it
clear that he considered the military force as an evil whose necessity was not
established, and only Bradford's insistence kept the regiment supplied.
At one conference Falkenberg met Chief Horgan of the Refuge police.
"The Chief's got a complaint, Colonel," President Budreau said.
"Yes sir?" Falkenberg asked.
"It's those damned Marines," Horgan said. He rubbed the point of his chin.
"They're raising hell in the city at night. We've never hauled any of them in
because Mr. Bradford wants us to go easy, but it's getting rough."
"What are they doing?" Falkenberg asked.
"You name it. They've taken over a couple of taverns and won't let anybody in
without their permission, for one thing. And they have fights with street
gangs every night.
"We could live with all that, but they go to other parts of town, too. Lots of
them. They go into taverns and drink all night, then say they can't pay. If
the owner gets sticky, they wreck the place. . . ."
"And they're gone before your patrols get there," Falkenberg finished for him.
"It's an old tradition. They call it System D, and more planning effort goes
into that operation than I can ever get them to put out in combat. I'll try to
put a stop to System D, anyway."
"It would help. Another thing. Your guys go into the roughest parts of town
and start fights whenever they can find anyone to mix with."
"How are they doing?" Falkenberg asked interestedly.
Horgan grinned, then caught himself after a stern look from Budreau. "Pretty
well. I understand they've never been beaten. But it raises hell with the
citizens, Colonel. And another trick of theirs is driving people crazy! They
march through the streets fifty strong at all hours of the night playing
bagpipes! Bagpipes in the wee hours, Colonel, can be a frightening thing."
Falkenberg thought he saw a tiny flutter in Horgan's left eye, and the police
chief was holding back a wry smile.
"I wanted to ask you about that, Colonel," Second Vice President Hamner said.
"This is hardly a Scots outfit, why do they have bagpipes anyway?"
Falkenberg shrugged. "Pipes are standard with many Marine regiments. Since the
Russki CD outfits started taking up Cossack customs, the Western bloc
regiments adopted their own. After all, the Marines were formed out of a
number of old military units. Foreign Legion, Highlanders—a lot of men like
the pipes. I'll confess I do myself."
"Sure, but not in my city in the middle of the night," Horgan said.
John grinned openly at the chief of police. "I'll try to keep the pipers off
the streets at night. I can imagine they're not good for civilian morale. But
as to keeping the Marines in camp, how do I do it? We need every one of them,
and they're volunteers. They can get on the CD carrier and ship out when the
rest go, and there's not one damned thing we can do about it."
"There's less than a month until they haul down that CoDominium flag,"
Bradford added with satisfaction. He glanced at the CD banner on its staff
outside. Eagle with red shield and black sickle and hammer on its breast; red
stars and blue stars around it. Bradford nodded in satisfaction. It wouldn't
be long.

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That flag meant little to the people of Hadley. On Earth it was enough to
cause riots in nationalistic cities in both the U.S. and the Soviet Union,
while in other countries it was a symbol of the alliance that kept any other
nation from rising above second-class status. To Earth the CoDominium Alliance
represented peace at a high price, too high for many.
For Falkenberg it represented nearly thirty years of service ended by court
martial.
* * *
Two weeks to go. Then the CoDominium governor would leave, and Hadley would be
officially independent. Vice President Bradley visited the camp to speak to
the recruits.
He told them of the value of loyalty to the government, and the rewards they
would all have as soon as the Progressive Party was officially in power.
Better pay, more liberties, and the opportunity for promotion in an expanding
army; bonuses and soft duty. His speech was full of promises, and Bradford was
quite proud of it.
When he had finished, Falkenberg took the Vice President into a private room
in the Officers' Mess and slammed the door.
"Damn you, you don't ever make offers to my troops without my permission."
John Falkenberg's face was cold with anger.
"I'll do as I please with my army, Colonel," Bradford replied smugly. The
little smile on his face was completely without warmth. "Don't get snappy with
me, Colonel Falkenberg. Without my influence Budreau would dismiss you in an
instant."
Then his mood changed, and Bradford took a flask of brandy from his pocket.
"Here, Colonel, have a drink." The little smile was replaced with something
more genuine. "We have to work together, John. There's too much to do, even
with both of us working it won't all get done. Sorry, I'll ask your advice in
future, but don't you think the troops should get to know me? I'll be
President soon." He looked to Falkenberg for confirmation.
"Yes, sir," John took the flask and held it up for a toast. "To the new
president of Hadley. I shouldn't have snapped at you, but don't make offers to
troops who haven't proved themselves. If you give men reason to think they're
good when they're not, you'll never have an army worth its pay."
"But they've done well in training. You said so."
"Sure, but you don't tell them that. Work them until they've nothing more to
give, and let them know that's just barely satisfactory. Then one day they'll
give you more than they knew they had in them. That's the day you can offer
rewards, only by then you won't need to."
Bradford nodded grudging agreement. "If you say so. But I wouldn't have
thought—"
"Listen," Falkenberg said.
A party of recruits and their drill masters marched past outside. They were
singing and their words came in the open window.

"When you've blue'd your last tosser,
on the brothel and the booze,
and you're out in the cold on your ear,
you hump your bundle on the rough,
and tell the sergeant that you're tough,
and you'll do him the favor of his life.
He will cry and he will scream,
and he'll curse his rotten luck,
and he'll ask why he was ever born.
If you're lucky he will take you,
and he'll do his best to break you,
and they'll feed you rotten monkey on a knife."

"Double time, heaow!" The song broke off as the men ran across the central
parade ground.

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Bradford turned away from the window. "That sort of thing is all very well for
the jailbirds, Colonel, but I insist on keeping my loyalists as well. In
future you will dismiss no Progressive without my approval. Is that
understood?"
Falkenberg nodded. He'd seen this coming for some time. "In that case, sir, it
might be better to form a separate battalion. I will transfer all of your
people into the Fourth Battalion and put them under the officers you've
appointed. Will that be satisfactory?"
"If you'll supervise their training, yes."
"Certainly," Falkenberg said.
"Good." Bradford's smile broadened, but it wasn't meant for Falkenberg. "I
will also expect you to consult me about any promotions in that battalion. You
agree to that, of course."
"Yes, sir. There may be some problems about finding locals to fill the senior
NCO slots. You've got potential monitors and corporals, but they've not the
experience to be sergeants and centurions."
"You'll find a way, I'm sure," Bradford said carefully. "I have some rather,
uh, special duties for the Fourth Battalion, Colonel. I'd prefer it to be
entirely staffed by Party loyalists of my choosing. Your men should only be
there to supervise training, not as their commanders. Is this agreed?"
"Yes, sir."
Bradford's smile was genuine as he left the camp.
* * *
Day after day the troops sweated in the bright blue-tinted sunlight. Riot
control, bayonet drill, use of armor in defense and attacks against men with
body armor; and more complex exercises as well. There were forced marches
under the relentless direction of Major Savage, the harsh shouts of sergeants
and centurions, Captain Amos Fast with his tiny swagger stick and biting
sarcasm. . . .
Yet the number leaving the regiment was smaller now, and there was still a
flow of recruits from the Marine's nocturnal expeditions. The recruiting
officers could even be selective, although they seldom were. The Marines, like
the Legion before it, took anyone willing to fight; and Falkenberg's officers
were all Marine trained.
Each night groups of Marines sneaked past sentries to drink and carouse with
the field hands of nearby ranchers. They gambled and shouted in local taverns,
and they paid little attention to their officers. There were many complaints,
and Bradford's protests became stronger.
Falkenberg always gave the same answer. "They always come back, and they don't
have to stay here. How do you suggest I control them? Flogging?"
The constabulary army had a definite split personality, with recruits treated
harsher than veterans. Meanwhile the Fourth Battalion grew larger each day.

VIII
George Hamner tried to get home for dinner every night, no matter what it
might cost him in night work later. He thought he owed at least that to his
family.
His walled estate was just outside the Palace district. It had been built by
his grandfather with money borrowed from American Express. The old man had
been proud of paying back every cent before it was due. It was a big
comfortable place which cunningly combined local materials and imported
luxuries, and George was always glad to return there.
At home he felt he was master of something, that at least one thing was under
his control. It was the only place in Refuge where he could feel that way.
In less than a week the CoDominium Governor would leave. Independence was
near, and it should be a time of hope, but George Hamner felt only dread.
Problems of public order were not officially his problem. He held the Ministry
of Technology, but the breakdown in law and order couldn't be ignored. Already
half of Refuge was untouched by government.
There were large areas where the police went only in squads or not at all, and

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maintenance crews had to be protected or they couldn't enter. For now the
CoDominium Marines escorted George's men, but what would it be like when the
Marines were gone?
George sat in the paneled study and watched lengthening shadows in the groves
outside. They made dancing patterns through the trees and across neatly
clipped lawns. The outside walls spoiled the view of Raceway Channel below,
and Hamner cursed them.
Why must we have walls? Walls and a dozen armed men to patrol them. I can
remember when I sat in this room with my father, I was no more than six, and
we could watch boats in the Channel. And later, we had such big dreams for
Hadley. Grandfather telling why he had left Earth, and what we could do here.
Freedom and plenty. We had a paradise, and Lord, Lord, what have we done with
it?
He worked for an hour, but accomplished little. There weren't any solutions,
only chains of problems that led back into a circle. Solve one and all would
fall into place, but none were soluble without the others. And yet, if we had
a few years, he thought. A few years, but we aren't going to get them.
In a few years the farms will support the urban population if we can move
people out to the agricultural interior and get them working—but they won't
leave Refuge, and we can't make them do it.
If we could, though. If the city's population could be thinned, the power we
divert to food manufacture can be used to build a transport net. Then we can
get more to live in the interior, and we can get more food into the city. We
could make enough things to keep country life pleasant, and people will want
to leave Refuge. But there's no way to the first step. The people don't want
to move and the Freedom Party promises they won't have to.
George shook his head. Can Falkenberg's army make them leave? If he gets
enough soldiers can he forcibly evacuate part of the city? Hamner shuddered at
the thought. There would be resistance, slaughter, civil war. Hadley's
independence can't be built on a foundation of blood. No.
His other problems were similar. The government was bandaging Hadley's wounds,
but no more. Treating symptoms because there was never enough control over
events to treat causes.
He picked up a report on the fusion generators. They needed spare parts, and
he wondered how long even this crazy standoff would last. He couldn't really
expect more than a few years even if everything went well. A few years, and
then famine because the transport net couldn't be built fast enough. And when
the generators failed, the city's food supplies would be gone, sanitation
services crippled . . . famine and plague. Were those horsemen better than
conquest and war?
He thought of his interview with the Freedom Party leaders. They didn't care
about the generators because they were sure that Earth wouldn't allow famines
on Hadley. They thought Hadley could use her own helplessness as a weapon to
extract payments from the CoDominium.
George cursed under his breath. They were wrong. Earth didn't care, and Hadley
was too far away to interest anyone. But even if they were right they were
selling Hadley's independence, and for what? Didn't real independence mean
anything to them?
Laura came in with a pack of shouting children.
"Already time for bed?" he asked. The four-year-old picked up his pocket
calculator and sat on his lap, punching buttons and watching the numbers and
lights flash.
George kissed them all and sent them out, wondering as he did what kind of
future they had.
I should get out of politics, he told himself. I'm not doing any good, and
I'll get Laura and the kids finished along with me. But what happens if we let
go? What future will they have then?
"You look worried." Laura was back after putting the children to bed. "It's
only a few days—"
"Yeah."

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"And what really happens then?" she asked. "Not the promises we keep hearing.
What really happens when the CD leaves? It's going to be bad, isn't it?"
He pulled her to him, feeling her warmth, and tried to draw comfort from her
nearness. She huddled against him for a moment, then pulled away.
"George, shouldn't we take what we can and go east? We wouldn't have much, but
you'd be alive."
"It won't be that bad," he told her. He tried to chuckle, as if she'd made a
joke, but the sound was hollow. She didn't laugh with him.
"There'll be time for that later," he told her. "If things don't work. But it
should be all right at first. We've got a planetary constabulary. It should be
enough to protect the government—but I'm moving all of you into the palace in
a couple of days."
"The army," she said with plenty of contempt. "Some army, Georgie. Bradford's
volunteers who'd kill you—and don't think he wouldn't like to see you dead,
either. And those Marines! You said yourself they were the scum of space."
"I said it. I wonder if I believe it. There's something strange happening
here, Laura. Something I don't understand."
She sat on the couch near his desk and curled her legs under herself. He'd
always liked that pose. She looked up, her eyes wide with interest. She never
looked at anyone else that way.
"I went to see Major Karantov today," George said. "Thought I'd presume on an
old friend to get a little information about this man Falkenberg. Boris wasn't
in his office, but one of the junior lieutenants, fellow named Kleist—"
"I've met him," Laura said. "Nice boy. A little young."
"Yes. Anyway, we got into a conversation about what happens after
independence. We discussed street fighting, and the mob riots, you know, and I
said I wished we had some reliable Marines instead of the demobilized outfit
they were leaving here. He looked funny and asked just what did I want, the
Grand Admiral's Guard?"
"That's strange."
"Yes, and when Boris came in and I asked what Kleist meant, Boris said the kid
was new and didn't know what he was talking about."
"And you think he did?" Laura asked. "Boris wouldn't lie to you. Stop that!"
she added hastily. "You have an appointment."
"It can wait."
"With only a couple of dozen cars on this whole planet and one of them coming
for you, you will not keep it waiting while you make love to your wife, George
Hamner!" Her eyes flashed, but not with anger. "Besides, I want to know what
Boris told you." She danced away from him, and he went back to the desk.
"It's not just that," George said. "I've been thinking about it. Those troops
don't look like misfits to me. Off duty they drink, and they've got the field
hands locking their wives and daughters up, but you know, come morning they're
out on that drill field. And Falkenberg doesn't strike me as the type who'd
put up with undisciplined men."
"But—"
He nodded. "But it doesn't make sense. And there's the matter of the officers.
He's got too many, and they're not from Hadley. That's why I'm going out there
tonight, without Bradford."
"Have you asked Ernie about it?"
"Sure. He says he's got some Party loyalists training as officers. I'm a
little slow, Laura, but I'm not that stupid. I may not notice everything, but
if there were fifty Progressives with military experience I'd know. Bradford
is lying, and why?"
Laura looked thoughtful and pulled her lower lip in a gesture that Hamner
hardly noticed now, although he'd kidded her about it before they were
married. "He lies for practice," she said. "But his wife has been talking
about independence, and she let something slip about when Ernie would be
President she'd make some changes."
"Well, Ernie expects to succeed Budreau."
"No," Laura said. "She acted like it would be soon. Very soon."

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George Hamner shook his massive head. "He hasn't the guts for a coup," he said
firmly. "And the technicians would walk out in a second. They can't stand him
and he knows it."
"Ernest Bradford has never recognized any limitations," Laura said. "He really
believes he can make anyone like him if he'll just put out the effort. No
matter how many times he's kicked a man, he thinks a few smiles and apologies
will fix it. But what did Boris tell you about Falkenberg?"
"Said he was as good as we can get. A top Marine commander, started as a Navy
man and went over to Marines because he couldn't get fast enough promotions in
the Navy."
"An ambitious man. How ambitious?"
"Don't know."
"Is he married?"
"I gather he once was, but not for a long time. I got the scoop on the court
martial. There weren't any slots open for promotion. But when a review board
passed Falkenberg over for a promotion that the admiral couldn't have given
him in the first place, Falkenberg made such a fuss about it that he was
dismissed for insubordination."
"Can you trust him, then?" Laura asked. "His men may be the only thing keeping
you alive—"
"I know. And you, and Jimmy, and Christie, and Peter. . . . I asked Boris
that, and he said there's no better man available. You can't hire CD men from
active duty. Boris recommends him highly. Says troops love him, he's a
brilliant tactician, has experience in troop command and staff work as well—"
"Sounds like quite a catch."
"Yes. But Laura, if he's all that valuable, why did they boot him out? My God,
it all sounds so trivial—"
The interphone buzzed, and Hamner answered it absently. It was the butler to
announce that his car and driver were waiting. "I'll be late, sweetheart.
Don't wait up for me. But you might think about it . . . I swear Falkenberg is
the key to something, and I wish I knew what."
"Do you like him?" Laura asked.
"He isn't a man who tries to be liked."
"I asked if you like him."
"Yes. And there's no reason to. I like him, but can I trust him?"
As he went out he thought about that. Could he trust Falkenberg? With Laura's
life . . . and the kids . . . and for that matter, with a whole planet that
seemed headed for hell and no way out.
* * *
The troops were camped in an orderly square. Earth ramparts had been thrown up
around the perimeter, and the tents were pitched in lines that might have been
laid with a transit.
The equipment was scrubbed and polished, blanket rolls were tight, each item
in the same place inside the two-man tents . . . but the men were milling
about, shouting, gambling openly in front of the campfires. There were plenty
of bottles in evidence even from the outer gates.
"Halt! Who's there?"
Hamner started. The car had stopped at the barricaded gate, but Hamner hadn't
seen the sentry. This was his first visit to the camp at night, and he was
edgy. "Vice President Hamner," he answered.
A strong light played on his face from the opposite side of the car. Two
sentries, then, and both invisible until he'd come on them. "Good evening,
sir," the first sentry said. "I'll pass the word you're here."
He raised a small communicator to his lips. "Corporal of the Guard. Post
Number Five." Then he shouted the same thing, the call ringing clear in the
night. A few heads around campfires turned toward the gate, then went back to
their other activities.
Hamner was escorted across the camp to officers' row. The huts and tent stood
across a wide parade ground from the densely packed company streets of the
troops and had their own guards.

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Over in the company area the men were singing, and Hamner paused to listen.

"I've a head like a concertina, and I think I'm ready to die,
and I'm here in the clink for a thundrin' drink and
blacking the Corporal's eye,
With another man's cloak underneath of my head
and a beautiful view of the yard,
it's the crapaud for me, and no more System D,
I was Drunk and Resistin' the Guard!
Mad drunk and resistin' the guard!
It's the crapaud for me, and no more System D,
I was Drunk and Resistin' the Guard."

Falkenberg came out of his hut. "Good evening, sir. What brings you here?"
I'll just bet you'd like to know, Hamner thought. "I have a few things to
discuss with you, Colonel. About the organization of the constabulary."
"Certainly." Falkenberg was crisp and seemed slightly nervous. Hamner wondered
if he were drunk. "Shall we go to the Mess?" Falkenberg asked. "More
comfortable there, and I haven't got my quarters made up for visitors."
Or you've got something here I shouldn't see, George thought. Something or
someone. Local girl? What difference does it make? God, I wish I could trust
this man.
Falkenberg led the way to the ranch house in the center of officers' row. The
troops were still shouting and singing, and a group was chasing each other on
the parade ground. Most were dressed in the blue and yellow garrison uniforms
Falkenberg had designed, but others trotted past in synthi-leather
battledress. They carried rifles and heavy packs.
"Punishment detail," Falkenberg explained. "Not as many of those as there used
to be."
Sound crashed from the Officers' Mess building: drums and bagpipes, a wild
sound of war mingled with shouted laughter. Inside, two dozen men sat at a
long table as white-coated stewards moved briskly about with whiskey bottles
and glasses.
Kilted bandsmen marched around the table with pipes. Drummers stood in one
corner. The deafening noise stopped as Falkenberg entered, and everyone got to
his feet. Some were quite unsteady.
"Carry on," Falkenberg said, but no one did. They eyed Hamner nervously, and
at a wave from the mess president at the head of the table the pipers and
drummers went outside. Several stewards with bottles followed them. The other
officers sat and talked in low tones. After all the noise the room seemed very
quiet.
"We'll sit over here, shall we?" the colonel asked. He led Hamner to a small
table in one corner. A steward brought two glasses of whiskey and set them
down.
The room seemed curiously bare to Hamner. A few banners, some paintings; very
little else. Somehow, he thought, there ought to be more. As if they're
waiting. But that's ridiculous.
Most of the officers were strangers, but George recognized half a dozen
Progressives, the highest rank a first lieutenant. He waved at the ones he
knew and received brief smiles that seemed almost guilty before the Party
volunteers turned back to their companions.
"Yes, sir?" Falkenberg prompted.
"Just who are these men?" George demanded. "I know they're not native to
Hadley. Where did they come from?"
"CoDominium officers on the beach," Falkenberg answered promptly. "Reduction
in force. Lots of good men got riffed into early retirement. Some of them
heard I was coming here and chose to give up their reserve ranks. They came
out on the colony ship on the chance I'd hire them."
"And you did."
"Naturally I jumped at the chance to get experienced men at prices we could

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afford."
"But why all the secrecy? Why haven't I heard about them before?"
Falkenberg shrugged. "We've violated several of the Grand Senate's regulations
on mercenaries, you know. It's best not to talk about these things until the
CD has definitely gone. After that, the men are committed. They'll have to
stay loyal to Hadley." Falkenberg lifted his whiskey glass. "Vice President
Bradford knew all about it."
"I'll bet he did." Hamner lifted his own glass. "Cheers."
"Cheers."
And I wonder what else that little snake knows about, Hamner wondered. Without
his support Falkenberg would be out of here in a minute . . . and what then?
"Colonel, your organization charts came to my office yesterday. You've kept
all the Marines in one battalion with these newly hired officers. Then you've
got three battalions of locals, but all the Party stalwarts are in the Fourth.
The Second and Third are local recruits, but under your own men."
"That's a fair enough description, yes, sir," Falkenberg said.
And you know my question, George thought. "Why, Colonel? A suspicious man
would say that you've got your own little army here, with a structure set so
that you can take complete control if there's ever a difference of opinion
between you and the government."
"A suspicious man might say that," Falkenberg agreed. He drained his glass and
waited for George to do the same. A steward came over with freshly filled
glasses.
"But a practical man might say something else," Falkenberg continued. "Do you
expect me to put green officers in command of those guardhouse troops? Or your
good-hearted Progressives in command of green recruits?"
"But you've done just that—"
"On Mr. Bradford's orders I've kept the Fourth Battalion as free of my
mercenaries as possible. That isn't helping their training, either. But Mr.
Bradford seems to have the same complaint as you."
"I haven't complained."
"I thought you had," Falkenberg said. "In any event, you have your Party
force, if you wish to use it to control me. Actually you have all the control
you need anyway. You hold the purse strings. Without supplies to feed these
men and money to pay them, I couldn't hold them an hour."
"Troops have found it easier to rob the paymaster than fight for him before
now," Hamner observed. "Cheers." He drained the glass, then suppressed a
cough. The stuff was strong, and he wasn't used to drinking neat whiskey. He
wondered what would happen if he ordered something else, beer, or a mixed
drink. Somehow it didn't seem to go with the party.
"I might have expected that remark from Bradford," Falkenberg said.
Hamner nodded. Bradford was always suspicious of something. There were times
when George wondered if the First Vice President were quite sane, but that was
silly. Still, when the pressure was on, Ernie Bradford did manage to get on
people's nerves with his suspicions, and he would rather see nothing done than
give up control of anything.
"How am I supposed to organize this coup?" Falkenberg demanded. "I have a
handful of men loyal to me. The rest are mercenaries, or your locals. You've
paid a lot to bring me and my staff here. You want us to fight impossible odds
with nonexistent equipment. If you also insist on your own organization of
forces, I cannot accept the responsibility."
"I didn't say that."
Falkenberg shrugged. "If President Budreau so orders, and he would on your
recommendation, I'll turn command over to anyone he names."
And he'd name Bradford, Hamner thought. I'd rather trust Falkenberg. Whatever
Falkenberg does will at least be competently done; with Ernie there was no
assurance he wasn't up to something, and none that he'd be able to accomplish
anything if he wasn't.
But. "What do you want out of this, Colonel Falkenberg?"
The question seemed to surprise the colonel. "Money, of course." Falkenberg

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answered. "A little glory, perhaps, although that's not a word much used
nowadays. A position of responsibility commensurate with my abilities. I've
always been a soldier, and I know nothing else."
"And why didn't you stay with the CD?"
"It is in the record," Falkenberg said coldly. "Surely you know."
"But I don't." Hamner was calm, but the whiskey was enough to make him bolder
than he'd intended to be, even in this camp surrounded by Falkenberg's men. "I
don't know at all. It makes no sense as I've been told it. You had no reason
to complain about promotions, and the admiral had no reason to prefer charges.
It 1ooks as if you had yourself cashiered."
Falkenberg nodded. "You're nearly correct. Astute of you." The soldier's lips
were tight and his gray eyes bored into Hamner. "I suppose you are entitled to
an answer. Grand Senator Bronson has sworn to ruin me for reasons you needn't
know. If I hadn't been dismissed for a trivial charge of technical
insubordination, I'd have faced a series of trumped-up charges. At least this
way I'm out with a clean record."
A clean record and a lot of bitterness. "And that's all there is to it?"
"That's all."
It was plausible. So was everything else Falkenberg said. Yet Hamner was sure
that Falkenberg was lying. Not lying directly, but not telling everything
either. Hamner felt that if he knew the right questions he could get the
answers, but there weren't any questions to ask.
And, Hamner thought, I must either trust this man or get rid of him; and to
irritate him while keeping him is the stupidest policy of all.
The pipers came back in, and the mess president looked to Falkenberg.
"Something more?" Falkenberg asked.
"No."
"Thank you." The colonel nodded to the junior officer. The mess president
waved approval to the pipe major. Pipe major raised his mace, and the drums
crashed. The pipers began, standing in place at first, then marching around
the table. Officers shouted, and the room was filled with martial cries. The
party was on again.
George looked for one of his own appointees and discovered that every
Progressive officer in the room was one of his own. There wasn't a single man
from Bradford's wing of the Party. Was that significant?
He rose and caught the eye of a Progressive lieutenant. "I'll let Farquhar
escort me out, Colonel," Hamner said.
"As you please."
The noise followed them out of the building and along the regimental street.
There were more sounds from the parade ground and the camp beyond. Fires
burned brightly in the night.
"All right, Jamie, what's going on here?" Hamner demanded.
"Going on, sir? Nothing that I know of. If you mean the party, we're
celebrating the men's graduation from basic training. Tomorrow they'll start
advanced work."
"Maybe I meant the party," Hamner said. "You seem pretty friendly with the
other officers."
"Yes, sir." Hamner noted the enthusiasm in Jamie Farquhar's voice. The boy was
young enough to be caught up in the military mystique, and George felt sorry
for him. "They're good men," Jamie said.
"Yes, I suppose so. Where are the others? Mr. Bradford's people?"
"They had a field problem that kept them out of camp until late," Farquhar
said. "Mr. Bradford came around about dinner time and asked that they be sent
to a meeting somewhere. He spends a lot of time with them."
"I expect he does," Hamner said. "Look, you've been around the Marines, Jamie.
Where are those men from? What CD outfits?"
"I really don't know, sir. Colonel Falkenberg has forbidden us to ask. He says
that the men start with a clean record here."
Hamner noted the tone Farquhar used when he mentioned Falkenberg. More than
respect. Awe, perhaps. "Have any of them served with the colonel before?"

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"I think so, yes, sir. They don't like him. Curse the colonel quite openly.
But they're afraid of that big sergeant major of his. Calvin has offered to
whip any two men in the camp, and they can choose the rules. A few of the
newcomers tried it, but none of the Marines would. Not one."
"And you say the colonel's not popular with the men?"
Farquhar was thoughtful for a moment. "I wouldn't say he was popular, no sir."
Yet, Hamner thought, Boris had said he was. Whiskey buzzed in George's head.
"Who is popular?"
"Major Savage, sir. The men like him. And Captain Fast, the Marines
particularly respect him. He's the adjutant."
"All right. Look, can this outfit fight? Have we got a chance after the CD
leaves?" They stood and watched the scenes around the campfires. Men were
drinking heavily, shouting and singing and chasing each other through the
camp. There was a fist fight in front of one tent, and no officer moved to
stop it.
"Do you allow that?" Hamner demanded.
"We try not to interfere too much." Farquhar said. "The colonel says half an
officer's training is learning what not to see. Anyway, the sergeants have
broken up the fight, see?"
"But you let the men drink."
"Sir, there's no regulation against drinking. Only against being unfit for
duty. And these men are tough. They obey orders and they can fight. I think
we'll do rather well."
Pride. They've put some pride into Jamie Farquhar, and maybe into some of
those jailbirds out there too. "All right, Jamie. Go back to your party. I'll
find my driver."
As he was driven away, George Hamner felt better about Hadley's future, but he
was still convinced something was wrong; and he had no idea what it was.
IX
The stadium had been built to hold one hundred thousand people. There were at
least that many jammed inside it now, and an equal number swarmed about the
market squares and streets adjacent to it. The full CoDominium Marine garrison
was on duty to keep order, but it wasn't needed.
The celebration was boisterous, but there wouldn't be any trouble today. The
Freedom Party was as anxious to avoid an incident as the Marines on this, the
greatest day for Hadley since Discovery. The CoDominium was turning over power
to local authority and getting out; and nothing must spoil that.
Hamner and Falkenberg watched from the upper tiers of the Stadium. Row after
row of plastisteel seats cascaded like a giant staircase down from their perch
to the central grassy field below. Every seat was filled, so that the Stadium
was a riot of color.
President Budreau and Governor Flaherty stood in the Presidential box directly
across from Falkenberg and Hamner. The President's Guard, in blue uniforms,
and the CoDominium Marines, in their scarlet and gold, stood at rigid
attention around the officials.
The President's box was shared by Vice President Bradford, the Freedom Party
opposition leaders, Progressive officials, officers of the retiring CoDominium
government, and everyone else who could beg an invitation. George knew that
some of them were wondering where he had got off to.
Bradford would particularly notice Hamner's absence. He might, George thought,
even think the Second Vice President was out stirring up opposition or
rebellion. Ernie Bradford had lately been accusing Hamner of every kind of
disloyalty to the Progressive Party, and it wouldn't be long before he
demanded that Budreau dismiss him.
To the devil with the little man! George thought. He hated crowds, and the
thought of standing there and listening to all those speeches, of being polite
to party officials whom he detested, was just too much. When he'd suggested
watching from another vantage point, Falkenberg had quickly agreed. The
soldier didn't seem to care too much for formal ceremonies either. Civilian
ceremonies, Hamner corrected himself; Falkenberg seemed to like military

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parades.
The ritual was almost over. The CD Marine bands had marched through the field,
the speeches had been made, presents delivered and accepted. A hundred
thousand people had cheered, and it was an awesome sound. The raw power was
frightening.
Hamner glanced at his watch. As he did the Marine band broke into a roar of
drums. The massed drummers ceased to beat one by one until there was but a
single drum roll that went on and on and on, until finally it too stopped. The
entire Stadium waited.
One trumpet, no more. A clear call, plaintive but triumphant, the final salute
to the CoDominium banner above the Palace. The notes hung in Hadley's air like
something tangible, and slowly, deliberately, the crimson and blue banner
floated down from the flagpole as Hadley's blazing gold and green arose.
Across the city uniformed men saluted these flags, one rising, the other
setting. The blue uniforms of Hadley saluted with smiles, the red-uniformed
Marines with indifference. The CoDominium banner rose and fell across two
hundred light years and seventy worlds in this year of Grace; what difference
would one minor planet make?
Hamner glanced at John Falkenberg. The colonel had no eyes for the rising
banners of Hadley. His rigid salute was given to the CD flag, and as the last
note of the final trumpet salute died away Hamner thought he saw Falkenberg
wipe his eyes.
The gesture was so startling that George looked again, but there was nothing
more to see, and he decided that he had been mistaken.
"That's it, then," Falkenberg snapped. His voice was strained. "I suppose we
ought to join the party. Can't keep His Nibs waiting."
Hamner nodded. The Presidential box connected directly to the Palace, and the
officials would arrive at the reception quickly while Falkenberg and Hamner
had the entire width of the crowded Stadium to traverse. People were already
streaming out to join the festive crowds on the grass in the center of the
bowl.
"Let's go this way," George said. He led Falkenberg to the top of the Stadium
and into a small alcove where he used a key to open an inconspicuous door.
"Tunnel system takes us right into the Palace, across and under the Stadium,"
he told Falkenberg. "Not exactly secret, but we don't want the people to know
about it because they'd demand we open it to the public. Built for maintenance
crews, mostly." He locked the door behind them and waved expressively at the
wide interior corridor. "Place was pretty well designed, actually."
The grudging tone of admiration wasn't natural to him. If a thing was well
done, it was well done . . . but lately he found himself talking that way
about CoDominium projects. He resented the whole CD administration and the men
who'd dumped the job of governing after creating problems no one could solve.
They wound down stairways and through more passages, then up to another set of
locked doors. Through those was the Palace courtyard. The celebrations were
already under way, and it would be a long night.
George wondered what would come now. In the morning the last CD boat would
rise, and the CoDominium would be gone. Tomorrow, Hadley would be alone with
her problems.
* * *
"Tensh-Hut!" Sergeant Major Calvin's crisp command cut through the babble.
"Please be seated, gentlemen." Falkenberg took his place at the head of the
long table in the command room of what had been the central headquarters for
the CoDominium Marines.
Except for the uniforms and banners there were few changes from what people
already called "the old days." The officers were seated in the usual places
for a regimental staff meeting. Maps hung along one wall, and a computer
output screen dominated another. Stewards in white coats brought coffee and
discreetly retired behind the armed sentries outside.
Falkenberg looked at the familiar scene and knew the constabulary had occupied
the Marine barracks for two days; the Marines had been there twenty years.

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A civilian lounged in the seat reserved for the regimental intelligence
officer. His tunic was a riot of colors; he was dressed in current Earth
fashions, with a brilliant cravat and baggy sleeves. A long sash took the
place of a belt and concealed his pocket calculator. Hadley's upper classes
were only just beginning to wear such finery.
"You all know why we're here," Falkenberg told the assembled officers. "Those
of you who've served with me before know I don't hold many staff councils.
They are customary among mercenary units, however. Sergeant Major Calvin will
represent the enlisted personnel of the regiment."
There were faint titters. Calvin had been associated with John Falkenberg for
twenty standard years. Presumably they had differences of opinion, but no one
ever saw them. The idea of the RSM opposing his colonel in the name of the
troops was amusing. On the other hand, no colonel could afford to ignore the
views of his sergeants' mess.
Falkenberg's frozen features relaxed slightly as if he appreciated his own
joke. His eyes went from face to face. Everyone in the room was a former
Marine, and all but a very few had served with him before. The Progressive
officers were on duty elsewhere—and it had taken careful planning by the
adjutant to accomplish that without suspicion.
Falkenberg turned to the civilian. "Dr. Whitlock, you've been on Hadley for
sixty-seven days. That's not very long to make a planetary study, but it's
about all the time we have. Have you reached any conclusions?"
"Yeah." Whitlock spoke with an exaggerated drawl that most agreed was
affected. "Not much different from Fleet's evaluation, Colonel. Can't think
why you went to the expense of bringin' me out here. Your Intelligence people
know their jobs about as well as I know mine."
Whitlock sprawled back in his seat and looked very relaxed and casual in the
midst of the others' military formality. There was no contempt in his manner.
The military had one set of rules and he had another, and he worked well with
soldiers.
"Your conclusions are similar to Fleet's, then," Falkenberg said.
"With the limits of analysis, yes, sir. Doubt any competent man could reach a
different conclusion. This planet's headed for barbarism within a generation."
There was no sound from the other officers but several were startled. Good
training kept them from showing it.
Whitlock produced a cigar from a sleeve pocket and inspected it carefully.
"You want the analysis?" he asked.
"A summary, please." Falkenberg looked at each face again. Major Savage and
Captain Fast weren't surprised; they'd known before they came to Hadley. Some
of the junior officers and company commanders had obviously guessed.
"Simple enough," Whitlock said. "There's no self-sustaining technology for a
population half this size. Without imports the standard of livin's bound to
fall. Some places they could take that, but not here.
"Here, when they can't get their pretty gadgets, 'stead of workin' the people
here in Refuge will demand the Government do something about it. Guv'mint's in
no position to refuse, either. Not strong enough.
"So they'll have to divert investment capital into consumer goods. There'll be
a decrease in technological efficiency, and then fewer goods, leadin' to more
demands, and another cycle just like before. Hard to predict just what comes
after that, but it can't be good.
"Afore long, then, they won't have the technological resources to cope even if
they could get better organized. It's not a new pattern, Colonel. Fleet saw it
comin' a while back. I'm surprised you didn't take their word for it."
Falkenberg nodded. "I did, but with something this important I thought I
better get another opinion. You've met the Freedom Party leaders, Dr.
Whitlock. Is there any chance they could keep civilization if they governed?"
Whitlock laughed. It was a long drawn-out laugh, relaxed, totally out of place
in a military council. "'Bout as much chance as for a 'gator to turn loose of
a hog, Colonel. Even assumin' they know what to do, how can they do it?
Suppose they get a vision and try to change their policies? Somebody'll start

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a new party along the lines of the Freedom Party's present thinkin'.
"Colonel, you will never convince all them people there's things the Guv'mint
just cain't do. They don't want to believe it, and there's always goin' to be
slick talkers willin' to say it's all a plot. Now, if the Progressive Party,
which has the right ideas already, was to set up to rule strong, they might be
able to keep something goin' a while longer."
"Do you think they can?" Major Savage asked.
"Nope. They might have fun tryin'," Whitlock answered. "Problem is that
independent countryside. There's not enough support for what they'd have to do
in city or country. Eventually that's all got to change, but the revolution
that gives this country a real powerful government's going to be one bloody
mess, I can tell you. A long drawn-out bloody mess at that."
"Haven't they any hope at all?" The questioner was a junior officer newly
promoted to company commander.
Whitlock sighed. "Every place you look, you see problems. City's vulnerable to
any sabotage that stops the food plants, for instance. And the fusion
generators ain't exactly eternal, either. They're runnin' 'em hard without
enough time off for maintenance. Hadley's operating on its capital, not its
income, and pretty soon there's not goin' to be any capital to operate off
of."
"And that's your conclusion," Falkenberg said. "It doesn't sound precisely
like the perfect place for us to retire to."
"Sure doesn't," Whitlock agreed. He stretched elaborately. "Cut it any way you
want to, this place isn't going to be self-sufficient without a lot of blood
spilled."
"Could they ask for help from American Express?" the junior officer asked.
"They could ask, but they won't get it," Whitlock said. "Son, this planet was
neutralized by agreement way back when the CD Governor came aboard. Now the
Russians aren't going to let a U.S. company like AmEx take it back into the
U.S. sphere, same as the U.S. won't let the Commies come in and set up shop.
Grand Senate would order a quarantine on this system just like that." The
historian snapped his fingers. "Whole purpose of the CoDominium."
"One thing bothers me," Captain Fast said. "You've been assuming that the CD
will simply let Hadley revert to barbarism. Won't BuRelock and the Colonial
Office come back if things get that desperate?"
"No."
"You seem rather positive," Major Savage observed.
"I'm positive." Dr. Whitlock said. "Budgets got cut again this year. They
don't have the resources to take on a place like Hadley. BuRelock's got its
own worries."
"But—" The lieutenant who'd asked the questions earlier sounded worried.
"Colonel, what could happen to the Bureau of Relocation?"
"As Dr. Whitlock says, no budget," Falkenberg answered. "Gentlemen, I
shouldn't have to tell you about that. You've seen what the Grand Senate did
to the Fleet. That's why you're demobilized. And Kaslov's people have several
new seats on the Presidium next year, just as Harmon's gang has won some minor
elections in the States. Both those outfits want to abolish the CD, and
they've had enough influence to get everyone's appropriations cut to the
bone."
"But population control has to ship people out, sir," the lieutenant
protested.
"Yes." Falkenberg's face was grim; perhaps he was recalling his own
experiences with population control's methods. "But they have to employ worlds
closer to Earth, regardless of the problems that may cause for the colonists.
Marginal exploitation ventures like Hadley's mines are being shut down. This
isn't the only planet the CD's abandoning this year." His voice took on a note
of thick irony. "Excuse me. Granting independence."
"So they can't rely on CoDominium help," Captain Fast said.
"No. If Hadley's going to reach takeoff, it's got to do it on its own."
"Which Dr. Whitlock says is impossible," Major Savage observed. "John, we've

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got ourselves into a cleft stick, haven't we?"
"I said it was unlikely, not that it was impossible," Whitlock reminded them.
"It'll take a government stronger than anything Hadley's liable to get,
though. And some smart people making the right moves. Or maybe there'll be
some luck. Like a good, selective plague. Now that'd do it. Plague to kill off
the right people—but if it got too many, there wouldn't be enough left to take
advantage of the technology, so I don't suppose that's the answer either."
Falkenberg nodded grimly. "Thank you, Dr. Whitlock. Now, gentlemen, I want
battalion commanders and headquarters officers to read Dr. Whitlock's report.
Meanwhile, we have another item. Major Savage will shortly make a report to
the Progressive Party Cabinet, and I want you to pay attention. We will have a
critique after his presentation. Major?"
Savage stood and went to the readout screen. "Gentlemen." He used the wall
console to bring an organization chart onto the screen.
"The regiment consists of approximately two thousand officers and men. Of
these, five hundred are former Marines, and another five hundred are
Progressive partisans organized under officers appointed by Mr. Vice President
Bradford.
"The other thousand are general recruits. Some of them are passable
mercenaries, and some are local youngsters who want to play soldier and would
be better off in a national guard. All recruits have received basic training
comparable to CD Marine ground basic without assault, fleet, or jump
schooling. Their performance has been somewhat better than we might expect
from a comparable number of Marine recruits in CD service.
"This morning, Mr. Bradford ordered the Colonel to remove the last of our
officers and noncoms from the Fourth Battalion, and as of this P.M. the Fourth
will be totally under the control of officers appointed by First Vice
President Bradford. He has not informed us of the reason for this order."
Falkenberg nodded. "In your estimate, Major, are the troops ready for combat
duties?" Falkenberg listened idly as he drank coffee. The briefing was
rehearsed, and he knew what Savage would answer. The men were trained, but
they did not as yet make up a combat unit. Falkenberg waited until Savage had
finished the presentation. "Recommendations?"
"Recommended that the Second Battalion be integrated with the First, sir.
Normal practice is to form each maniple with one recruit, three privates, and
a monitor in charge. With equal numbers of new men and veterans we will have a
higher proportion of recruits, but this will give us two battalions of men
under our veteran NCOs, with Marine privates for leavening.
"We will thus break up the provisional training organization and set up the
regiment with a new permanent structure, First and Second Battalions for
combat duties, Third composed of locals with former Marine officers to be held
in reserve. The Fourth will not be under our command."
"Your reasons for this organization?" Falkenberg asked.
"Morale, sir. The new troops feel discriminated against. They're under harsher
discipline than the former Marines, and they resent it. Putting them in the
same maniples with the Marines will stop that."
"Let's see the new structure."
Savage manipulated the input console and charts swam across the screen. The
administrative structure was standard, based in part on the CD Marines and the
rest on the national armies of Churchill. That wasn't the important part. It
wasn't obvious, but the structure demanded that all the key posts be held by
Falkenberg's mercenaries.
The best Progressive appointees were either in the Third or Fourth Battalions,
and there were no locals with the proper command experience; so went the
justification. It looked good to Falkenberg, and there was no sound military
reason to question it. Bradford would be so pleased about his new control of
the Fourth that he wouldn't look at the rest; not yet, anyway. The others
didn't know enough to question it.
Yes, Falkenberg thought. It ought to work. He waited until Savage was finished
and thanked him, then addressed the others. "Gentlemen, if you have

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criticisms, let's hear them now. I want a solid front when we get to the
Cabinet meeting tomorrow, and I want every one of you ready to answer any
question. I don't have to tell you how important it is that they buy this."
They all nodded.
"And another thing," Falkenberg said. "Sergeant Major."
"Sir!"
"As soon as the Cabinet has bought off on this new organization plan, I want
this regiment under normal discipline."
"Sir!"
"Break it to 'em hard, Top Soldier. Tell the Forty-second the act's over. From
here on recruits and old hands get treated alike, and the next man who gives
me trouble will wish he hadn't been born."
"Sir!" Calvin smiled happily. The last months had been a strain for everyone.
Now the colonel was taking over again, thank God. The men had lost some of the
edge, but he'd soon put it back again. It was time to take off the masks, and
Calvin for one was glad of it.

X
The sound of fifty thousand people shouting in unison can be terrifying. It
raises fears at a level below thought; creates a panic older than the fear of
nuclear weapons and the whole panoply of technology. It is raw, naked power
from a cauldron of sound.
Everyone in the Palace listened to the chanting crowd. The Government people
were outwardly calm, but they moved quietly through the halls, and spoke in
low tones—or shouted for no reason. The Palace was filled with a nameless
fear.
The Cabinet meeting started at dawn and continued until late in the morning.
It had gone on and on without settling anything. Just before noon Vice
President Bradford stood at his place at the council table with his lips tight
in rage. He pointed a trembling finger at George Hamner.
"It's your fault!" Bradford shouted. "Now the technicians have joined in the
demand for a new constitution, and you control them. I've always said you were
a traitor to the Progressive Party!"
"Gentlemen, please," President Budreau insisted. His voice held infinite
weariness. "Come now, that sort of language—"
"Traitor?" Hamner demanded. "If your blasted officials would pay a little
attention to the technicians, this wouldn't have happened. In three months
you've managed to convert the techs from the staunchest supporters of this
Party into allies of the rebels despite everything I could do."
"We need strong government," Bradford said. His voice was contemptuous, and
the little half-smile had returned.
George Hamner made a strong effort to control his anger. "You won't get it
this way. You've herded my techs around like cattle, worked them overtime for
no extra pay, and set those damned soldiers of yours onto them when they
protested. It's worth a man's life to have your constabulary mad at him."
"Resisting the police," Bradford said. "We can't permit that."
"You don't know what government is!" Hamner said. His control vanished and he
stood, towering above Bradford. The little man retreated a step, and his smile
froze. "You've got the nerve to call me a traitor after all you've done! I
ought to break your neck!"
"Gentlemen!" Budreau stood at his place at the head of the table. "Stop it!"
There was a roar from the Stadium. The Palace seemed to vibrate to the shouts
of the constitutional convention.
The Cabinet room became silent for a moment. Wearily, Budreau continued. "This
isn't getting us anywhere. I suggest we adjourn for half an hour to allow
tempers to cool."
There was murmured agreement from the others.
"And I want no more of these accusations and threats when we convene again,"
President Budreau said. "Is that understood?"
Grudgingly the others agreed. Budreau left alone. Then Bradford, followed by a

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handful of his closest supporters. Other ministers rushed to be seen leaving
with him, as if it might be dangerous to be thought in opposition to the First
Vice President.
George Hamner found himself alone in the room. He shrugged, and went out.
Ernest Bradford had been joined by a man in uniform. Hamner recognized
Lieutenant Colonel Cordova, commander of the Fourth Battalion of constabulary,
and a fanatic Bradford supporter. Hamner remembered when Bradford had first
proposed a commission for Cordova, and how unimportant it had seemed then.
Bradford's group went down the hall. They seemed to be whispering something
together and making a point of excluding the Second Vice President. Hamner
merely shrugged.
"Buy you a coffee?" The voice came from behind and startled George. He turned
to see Falkenberg.
"Sure. Not that it's going to do any good. We're in trouble, Colonel."
"Anything decided?" Falkenberg asked. "It's been a long wait."
"And a useless one. They ought to invite you into the Cabinet meetings. You
might have some good advice. There's sure as hell no reason to keep you
waiting in an anteroom while we yell at each other. I've tried to change that
policy, but I'm not too popular right now." There was another shout from the
Stadium.
"Whole government's not too popular," Falkenberg said. "And when that
convention gets through . . ."
"Another thing I tried to stop last week," George told him. "But Budreau
didn't have the guts to stand up to them. So now we've got fifty thousand
drifters, with nothing better to do, sitting as an assembly of the people.
That ought to produce quite a constitution."
Falkenberg shrugged. He might have been about to say something, George
thought, but if he were, he changed his mind. They reached the executive
dining room and took seats near one wall. Bradford's group had a table across
the room from them, and all of Bradford's people looked at them with
suspicion.
"You'll get tagged as a traitor for sitting with me, Colonel." Hamner laughed,
but his voice was serious. "I think I meant that, you know. Bradford's blaming
me for our problems with the techs, and between us he's also insisting that
you aren't doing enough to restore order in the city."
Falkenberg ordered coffee. "Do I need to explain to you why we haven't?"
"No." George Hamner's huge hand engulfed a water glass. "God knows you've been
given almost no support the last couple of months. Impossible orders, and
you've never been allowed to do anything decisive. I see you've stopped the
raids on rebel headquarters."
Falkenberg nodded. "We weren't catching anyone. Too many leaks in the Palace.
And most of the time the Fourth Battalion had already muddied the water. If
they'd let us do our job instead of having to ask permission through channels
for every operation we undertake, maybe the enemy wouldn't know as much about
what we're going to do. Now I've quit asking."
"You've done pretty well with the railroad."
"Yes. That's one success, anyway. Things are pretty quiet out in the country
where we're on our own. Odd, isn't it, that the closer we are to the expert
supervision of the government, the less effective my men seem to be?"
"But can't you control Cordova's men? They're causing more people to desert us
for the rebels than you can count. I can't believe unrestrained brutality is
useful."
"Nor I. Unless there's a purpose to it, force isn't a very effective
instrument of government. But surely you know, Mr. Hamner, that I have no
control over the Fourth. Mr. Bradford has been expanding it since he took
control, and it's now almost as large as the rest of the regiment—and totally
under his control, not mine."
"Bradford accused me of being a traitor," Hamner said carefully. "With his own
army, he might have something planned. . . ."
"You once thought that of me," Falkenberg said.

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"This is very serious," Hamner said. "Ernie Bradford has built an army only he
controls, and he's making wild accusations."
Falkenberg smiled grimly. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"You wouldn't? No. You wouldn't. But I'm scared, Colonel. I've got my family
to think of, and I'm plenty scared." Well, George thought, now it's out in the
open; can I trust him not to be Ernie Bradford's man?
"You believe Bradford is planning an illegal move?" Falkenberg asked.
"I don't know." Suddenly George was afraid again. He saw no sympathy in the
other man's eyes. And just who can I trust? Who? Anyone?
"Would you feel safer if your family were in our regimental barracks?"
Falkenberg asked. "It could be arranged."
"It's about time we had something out," George said at last. "Yes, I'd feel
safer with my wife and children under protection. But I'd feel safer yet if
you'd level with me."
"About what?" Falkenberg's expression didn't change.
"Those Marines of yours, to begin with," George said. "Those aren't penal
battalion men. I've watched them, they're too well disciplined. And the battle
banners they carry weren't won in any peanut actions, on this planet or
anywhere else. Just who are those men, Colonel?"
John Falkenberg smiled thinly. "I've been wondering when you'd ask. Why
haven't you brought this up with President Budreau?"
"I don't know. I think because I trust you more than Bradford, and the
President would only ask him . . . besides, if the President dismissed you
there'd be nobody able to oppose Ernie. If you will oppose him that is—but you
can stand up to him, anyway."
"What makes you think I would?" Falkenberg asked. "I obey the lawful orders of
the civilian government—"
"Yeah, sure. Hadley's going downhill so fast another conspiracy more or less
can't make any difference anyway . . . you haven't answered my question."
"The battle banners are from the Forty-second CD Marine Regiment," Falkenberg
answered slowly. "It was decommissioned as part of the budget cuts."
Forty-second, Hamner thought for a second. He searched through his mental
files to find the information he'd seen on Falkenberg. "That was your
regiment."
"Certainly."
"You brought it with you."
"A battalion of it," John Falkenberg agreed. "Their women are waiting to join
them when we get settled. When the Forty-second was decommissioned, the men
decided to stay together if they could."
"So you brought not only the officers, but the men as well."
"Yes." There was still no change in Falkenberg's expression, although Hamner
searched the other man's face closely.
George felt both fear and relief. If those were Falkenberg's men—"What is your
game, Colonel? You want more than just pay for your troops. I wonder if I
shouldn't be more afraid of you than of Bradford."
Falkenberg shrugged. "Decisions you have to make, Mr. Hamner. I could give you
my word that we mean you no harm, but what would that be worth? I will pledge
to take care of your family. If you want us to."
There was another shout from the Stadium, louder this time. Bradford and
Lieutenant Colonel Cordova left their table, still talking in low tones. The
conversation was animated, with violent gestures, as if Cordova were trying to
talk Bradford into something. As they left, Bradford agreed.
George watched them leave the room. The mob shouted again, making up his mind
for him. "I'll send Laura and the kids over to your headquarters this
afternoon."
"Better make it immediately," Falkenberg said calmly.
George frowned. "You mean there's not much time? Whatever you've got planned,
it'll have to be quick, but this afternoon?"
John shook his head. "You seem to think I have some kind of master plan, Mr.
Vice President. No. I suggest you get your wife to our barracks before I'm

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ordered not to undertake her protection, that's all. For the rest, I'm only a
soldier in a political situation."
"With Professor Whitlock to advise you," Hamner said. He looked closely at
Falkenberg.
"Surprised you with that one, didn't I?" Hamner demanded. "I've seen Whitlock
moving around and wondered why he didn't come to the President. He must have
fifty political agents in the convention right now."
"You do seem observant," Falkenberg said.
"Sure." Hamner was bitter. "What the hell good does it do me? I don't
understand anything that's going on, and I don't trust anybody. I see pieces
of the puzzle, but I can't put them together. Sometimes I think I should use
what influence I've got left to get you out of the picture anyway."
"As you will." Falkenberg's smile was coldly polite. "Whom do you suggest as
guards for your family after that? The Chief of Police? Listen."
The Stadium roared again in an angry sound that swelled in volume.
"You win," Hamner left the table and walked slowly back to the council room.
His head swirled.
Only one thing stood out clearly. John Christian Falkenberg controlled the
only military force on Hadley that could oppose Bradford's people—and the
Freedom Party gangsters, who were the original enemies in the first place.
Can't forget them just because I'm getting scared of Ernie, George thought.
He turned away from the council room and went downstairs to the apartment he'd
been assigned. The sooner Laura was in the Marine barracks, the safer he'd
feel.
But am I sending her to my enemies? O God, can I trust anyone at all? Boris
said he was an honorable man. Keep remembering that, keep remembering that.
Honor. Falkenberg has honor, and Ernie Bradford has none.
And me? What have I got for leaving the Freedom Party and bringing my
technicians over to the Progressives? A meaningless title as Second Vice
President, and—
The crowd screamed again. "POWER TO THE PEOPLE!"
George heard and walked faster.
* * *
Bradford's grin was back. It was the first thing George noticed as he came
into the council chamber. The little man stood at the table with an amused
smile. It seemed quite genuine, and more than a little frightening.
"Ah, here is our noble Minister of Technology and Second Vice President,"
Bradford grinned. "Just in time, Mr. President, that gang out there is
threatening the city. I am sure you will all be pleased to know that I've
taken steps to end the situation."
"What have you done?" George demanded.
Bradford's smile broadened even more. "At this moment, Colonel Cordova is
arresting the leaders of the opposition. Including, Mr. President, the leaders
of the Engineers' and Technicians' Association who have joined them. This
rebellion will be over within the hour."
Hamner stared at the man. "You fool! You'll have every technician in the city
joining the Freedom Party gang! And the techs control the power plants, our
last influence over the crowd. You bloody damned fool!"
Bradford spoke with exaggerated politeness. "I thought you would be pleased,
George, to see the rebellion end so easily. Naturally I've sent men to secure
the power plants. Ah, listen."
The crowd outside wasn't chanting anymore. There was a confused babble, then a
welling of sound that turned ugly. No coherent words reached them, only the
ugly, angry roars. Then there was a rapid fusillade of shots.
"My God!" President Budreau stared wildly in confusion. "What's happening? Who
are they shooting at? Have you started open war?"
"It takes stern measures, Mr. President," Bradford said. "Perhaps too stern
for you?" He shook his head slightly. "The time has come for harsh measures,
Mr. President. Hadley cannot be governed by weak-willed men. Our future
belongs to those who have the will to grasp it!"

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George Hamner turned toward the door. Before he could reach it, Bradford
called to him. "Please, George." His voice was filled with concern. "I'm
afraid you can't leave just yet. It wouldn't be safe for you. I took the
liberty of ordering Colonel Cordova's men to, uh, guard this room while my
troops restore order."
An uneasy quiet had settled on the Stadium, and they waited for a long time.
Then there were screams and more shots.
The sounds moved closer, as if they were outside the Stadium as well as in it.
Bradford frowned, but no one said anything. They waited for what seemed a
lifetime as the firing continued. Guns, shouts, screams, sirens, and
alarms—those and more, all in confusion.
The door burst open. Cordova came in. He now wore the insignia of a full
colonel. He looked around the room until he found Bradford. "Sir, could you
come outside a moment, please?"
"You will make your report to the Cabinet," President Budreau ordered. Cordova
glanced at Bradford. "Now, sir."
Cordova still looked to Bradford. The Vice President nodded slightly.
"Very well, sir," the young officer said. "As directed by the Vice President,
elements of the Fourth Battalion proceeded to the Stadium and arrested some
fifty leaders of the so-called constitutional convention.
"Our plan was to enter quickly and take the men out through the Presidential
box and into the Palace. However, when we attempted to make the arrests we
were opposed by armed men, many in the uniforms of household guards. We were
told there were no weapons in the Stadium, but this was in error.
"The crowd overpowered my officers and released their prisoners. When we
attempted to recover them, we were attacked by the mob and forced to fight our
way out of the Stadium."
"Good Lord," Budreau sighed. "How many hurt?"
"The power plants! Did you secure them?" Hamner demanded.
Cordova looked miserable. "No, sir. My men were not admitted. A council of
technicians and engineers holds the power plants, and they threaten to destroy
them if we attempt forcible entry. We have tried to seal them off from outside
support, but I don't think we can keep order with only my battalion. We will
need all the constabulary army to—"
"Idiot." Hamner clutched at his left fist with his right, and squeezed until
it hurt. A council of technicians. I'll know most of them. My friends. Or they
used to be. Will any of them trust me now? At least Bradford didn't control
the fusion plants.
"What is the current status outside?" President Budreau demanded. They could
still hear firing in the streets.
"Uh, there's a mob barricaded in the market, and another in the theater across
from the Palace, sir. My troops are trying to dislodge them." Cordova's voice
was apologetic.
"Trying. I take it they aren't likely to succeed." Budreau rose and went to
the anteroom door. "Colonel Falkenberg?" he called.
"Yes, sir?" Falkenberg entered the room as the President beckoned.
"Colonel, are you familiar with the situation outside?"
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Damn it, man, can you do something?"
"What does the President suggest I do?" Falkenberg looked at the Cabinet
members. "For three months we have attempted to preserve order in this city.
We were not able to do so even with the cooperation of the technicians."
"It wasn't my fault—" Lieutenant Colonel Cordova began.
"I did not invite you to speak." Falkenberg's lips were set in a grim line.
"Gentlemen, you now have open rebellion and simultaneously have alienated one
of the most powerful blocs within your Party. We no longer control either the
power plants or the food processing centers. I repeat, what does the President
suggest I do?"
Budreau nodded. "A fair enough criticism."
He was interrupted by Bradford. "Drive that mob off the streets! Use those

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precious troops of yours to fight, that's what you're here for."
"Certainly," Falkenberg said. "Will the President sign a proclamation of
martial law?"
Budreau nodded reluctantly. "I suppose I have to."
"Very well," Falkenberg said.
Hamner looked up suddenly. What had he detected in Falkenberg's voice and
manner? Something important?
"It is standard for politicians to get themselves into a situation that only
the military can get them out of. It is also standard for them to blame the
military afterwards," Falkenberg said. "I am willing to accept responsibility
for enforcing martial law, but I must have command of all government forces. I
will not attempt to restore order when some of the troops are not responsive
to my policies."
"No!" Bradford leaped to his feet. The chair crashed to the floor behind him.
"I see what you're doing! You're against me too! That's why it was never time
to move, never time for me to be President, you want control of this planet
for yourself! Well, you won't get away with it, you cheap dictator. Cordova,
arrest that man!"
Cordova licked his lips and looked at Falkenberg. Both soldiers were armed.
Cordova decided not to chance it. "Lieutenant Hargreave!" he called. The door
to the anteroom opened wide.
No one came in. "Hargreave!" Cordova shouted again. He put his hand on the
pistol holstered at his belt. "You're under arrest, Colonel Falkenberg."
"Indeed?"
"This is absurd," Budreau shouted. "Colonel Cordova, take your hand off that
weapon! I will not have my Cabinet meeting turned into a farce."
For a moment nothing happened. The room was very still, and Cordova looked
from Budreau to Bradford, wondering what to do now.
Then Bradford faced the President. "You too, old man? Arrest Mr. Budreau as
well, Colonel Cordova. As for you, Mr. Traitor George Hamner, you'll get
what's coming to you. I have men all through this Palace. I knew I might have
to do this."
"You knew—what is this, Ernest?" President Budreau seemed bewildered, and his
voice was plaintive. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, shut up, old man," Bradford snarled. "I suppose you'll have to be shot as
well."
"I think we have heard enough," Falkenberg said distinctly. His voice rang
through the room although he hadn't shouted. "And I refuse to be arrested."
"Kill him!" Bradford shouted. He reached under his tunic.
Cordova drew his pistol. It had not cleared the holster when there were shots
from the doorway. Their sharp barks filled the room, and Hamner's ears rang
from the muzzle blast.
Bradford spun toward the door with a surprised look. Then his eyes glazed and
he slid to the floor, the half-smile still on his lips. There were more shots
and the crash of automatic weapons, and Cordova was flung against the wall of
the council chamber. He was held there by the smashing bullets. Bright red
blotches spurted across his uniform.
Sergeant Major Calvin came into the room with three Marines in battle dress,
leather over bulging body armor. Their helmets were dull in the bright
blue-tinted sunlight streaming through the chamber's windows.
Falkenberg nodded and holstered his pistol. "All secure, Sergeant Major?"
"Sir!"
Falkenberg nodded again. "To quote Mr. Bradford, I took the liberty of
securing the corridors, Mr. President. Now, sir, if you will issue that
proclamation, I'll see to the situation in the streets outside. Sergeant
Major."
"Sir!"
"Do you have the proclamation of martial law that Captain Fast drew up?"
"Sir." Calvin removed a rolled document from a pocket of his leather tunic.
Falkenberg took it and laid it on the table in front of President Budreau.

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"But—" Budreau's tone was hopeless. "All right. Not that there's much chance."
He looked at Bradford's body and shuddered. "He was ready to kill me." Budreau
muttered. The President seemed confused. Too much had happened, and there was
too much to do.
The battle sounds outside were louder, and the council room was filled with
the sharp copper odor of fresh blood. Budreau drew the parchment toward
himself and glanced at it, then took out a pen from his pocket. He scrawled
his signature across it and handed it to Hamner to witness.
"You'd better speak to the President's Guard," Falkenberg said. "They won't
know what to do."
"Aren't you going to use them in the street fight?" Hamner asked.
Falkenberg shook his head. "I doubt if they'd fight. They have too many
friends among the rebels. They'll protect the Palace, but they won't be
reliable for anything else."
"Have we got a chance?" Hamner asked.
Budreau looked up from his reverie at the head of the table. "Yes. Have we?"
"Possibly," Falkenberg said. "Depends on how good the people we're fighting
are. If their commander is half as good as I think he is, we won't win this
battle."

XI
"Goddamn it, we won't do it!" Lieutenant Martin Latham stared in horror at
Captain Fast. "That market's a death trap. These men didn't join to attack
across open streets against rioters in safe positions—"
"No. You joined to be glorified police," Captain Fast said calmly. "Now you've
let things get out of hand. Who better to put them right again?"
"The Fourth Battalion takes orders from Colonel Cordova, not you." Latham
looked around for support. Several squads of the Fourth were within hearing,
and he felt reassured.
They stood in a deep indentation of the Palace wall. Just outside and around
the corner of the indentation they could hear sporadic firing as the other
units of the regiment kept the rebels occupied. Latham felt safe here, but out
there—
"No," he repeated. "It's suicide."
"So is refusal to obey orders," Amos Fast said quietly. "Don't look around and
don't raise your voice. Now, glance behind me at the Palace walls."
Latham saw them. A flash from a gun barrel; blurs as leather-clad figures
settled in on the walls and in the windows overlooking the niche.
"If you don't make the attack, you will be disarmed and tried for cowardice in
the face of the enemy," Fast said quietly. "There can be only one outcome of
that trial. And only one penalty. You're better off making the assault. We'll
support you in that."
"Why are you doing this?" Martin Latham demanded.
"You caused the problem," Fast said. "Now get ready. When you've entered the
market square the rest of the outfit will move up in support."
* * *
The assault was successful, but it cost the Fourth heavily. After that came
another series of fierce attacks. When they were finished the rioters had been
driven from the immediate area of the Palace, but Falkenberg's regiment paid
for every meter gained.
Whenever they took a building, the enemy left it blazing. When the regiment
trapped one large group of rebels, Falkenberg was forced to abandon the
assault to aid in evacuating a hospital that the enemy put to the torch.
Within three hours, fires were raging all around the Palace.
There was no one in the council chamber with Budreau and Hamner. The bodies
had been removed, and the floor mopped, but it seemed to George Hamner that
the room would always smell of death; and he could not keep his eyes from
straying from time to time, from staring at the neat line of holes stitched at
chest height along the rich wood paneling.
Falkenberg came in. "Your family is safe, Mr. Hamner." He turned to the

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President. "Ready to report, sir.
Budreau looked up with haunted eyes. The sound of gunfire was faint, but still
audible.
"They have good leaders," Falkenberg reported, "When they left the Stadium
they went immediately to the police barracks. They took the weapons and
distributed them to their allies, after butchering the police."
"They murdered—"
"Certainly," Falkenberg said. "They wanted the police building as a fortress.
And we are not fighting a mere mob out there, Mr. President. We have
repeatedly run against well-armed men with training. Household forces. I will
attempt another assault in the morning, but for now, Mr. President, we don't
hold much more than a kilometer around the Palace."
* * *
The fires burned all night, but there was little fighting. The regiment held
the Palace, with bivouac in the courtyard; and if anyone questioned why the
Fourth was encamped in the center of the courtyard with other troops all
around them, they did so silently.
Lieutenant Martin Latham might have had an answer for any such questioner, but
he lay under Hadley's flag in the honor hall outside the hospital.
In the morning the assaults began again. The regiment moved out in thin
streams, infiltrating weak spots, bypassing strong, until it had cleared a
large area outside the Palace again. Then it came against another
well-fortified position.
An hour later the regiment was heavily engaged against rooftop snipers,
barricaded streets, and everywhere burning buildings. Maniples and squads
attempted to get through and into the buildings beyond but were turned back.
The Fourth was decimated in repeated assaults against the barricades.
George Hamner had come with Falkenberg and stood in the field headquarters. He
watched another platoon assault of the Fourth beaten back. "They're pretty
good men," he mused.
"They'll do. Now," Falkenberg said.
"But you've used them up pretty fast."
"Not entirely by choice," Falkenberg said. "The President has ordered me to
break the enemy resistance. That squanders soldiers. I'd as soon use the
Fourth as blunt the fighting edge of the rest of the regiment."
"But we're not getting anywhere."
"No. The opposition's too good, and there are too many of them. We can't get
them concentrated for a set battle, and when we do catch them they set fire to
part of the city and retreat under cover of the flames."
A communications corporal beckoned urgently, and Falkenberg went to the low
table with its array of electronics. He took the offered earphone and
listened, then raised a mike.
"Fall back to the Palace," Falkenberg ordered.
"You're retreating?" Hamner demanded.
Falkenberg shrugged. "I have no choice. I can't hold this thin a perimeter,
and I have only two battalions. Plus what's left of the Fourth."
"Where's the Third? The Progressive partisans? My people?"
"Out at the power plants and food centers," Falkenberg answered. "We can't
break in without giving the techs time to wreck the place, but we can keep any
more rebels from getting in. The Third isn't as well trained as the rest of
the regiment—and besides, the techs may trust them."
They walked back through burned-out streets. The sounds of fighting followed
them as the regiment retreated. Civilian workers fought the fires and cared
for the wounded and dead.
Hopeless, George Hamner thought. Hopeless. I don't know why I thought
Falkenberg would pull some kind of rabbit out of the hat once Bradford was
gone. What could he do? What can anyone do?
Worried-looking Presidential Guards let them into the Palace and swung the
heavy doors shut behind them. The guards held the Palace, but would not go
outside.

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President Budreau was in his ornate office with Lieutenant Banners. "I was
going to send for you," Budreau said. "We can't win this, can we?"
"Not the way it's going," Falkenberg answered. Hamner nodded agreement.
Budreau nodded rapidly, as if to himself. His face was a mask of lost hopes.
"That's what I thought. Pull your men back to barracks, Colonel. I'm going to
surrender."
"But you can't," George protested. "Everything we've dreamed of . . . You'll
doom Hadley. The Freedom Party can't govern."
"Precisely. And you see it too, don't you, George? How much governing are we
doing? Before it came to an open break, perhaps we had a chance. Not now.
Bring your men back to the Palace, Colonel Falkenberg. Or are you going to
refuse?"
"No, sir. The men are retreating already. They'll be here in half an hour."
Budreau sighed loudly. "I told you the military answer wouldn't work here,
Falkenberg."
"We might have accomplished something in the past months if we'd been given
the chance."
"You might." The President was too tired to argue. "But putting the blame on
poor Ernie won't help. He must have been insane.
"But this isn't three months ago. Colonel. It's not even yesterday. I might
have reached a compromise before the fighting started, but I didn't, and
you've lost. You're not doing much besides burning down the city . . . at
least I can spare Hadley that. Banners, go tell the Freedom Party leaders I
can't take anymore."
The Guard officer saluted and left, his face an unreadable mask. Budreau
watched him leave the office. His eyes focused far beyond the walls with their
Earth decorations.
"So you're resigning," Falkenberg said slowly.
Budreau nodded.
"Have you resigned, sir?" Falkenberg demanded.
"Yes, blast you. Banners has my resignation."
"And what will you do now?" George Hamner asked. His voice held both contempt
and amazement. He had always admired and respected Budreau. And now what had
Hadley's great leader left them?
"Banners has promised to get me out of here," Budreau said. "He has a boat in
the harbor. We'll sail up the coast and land, then go inland to the mines.
There'll be a starship there next week, and I can get out on that with my
family. You'd better come with me, George." The President put both hands over
his face, then looked up. "There's a lot of relief in giving in, did you know?
What will you do, Colonel Falkenberg?"
"We'll manage. There are plenty of boats in the harbor if we need one. But it
is very likely that the new government will need trained soldiers."
"The perfect mercenary," Budreau said with contempt. He sighed, then sent his
eyes searching around the office, lingering on familiar objects. "It's a
relief. I don't have to decide things anymore." He stood and his shoulders
were no longer stooped. "I'll get the family. You'd better be moving too,
George."
"I'll be along, sir. Don't wait for us. As the Colonel says, there are plenty
of boats." He waited until Budreau had left the office, then turned to
Falkenberg. "All right, what now?"
"Now we do what we came here to do," Falkenberg said. He went to the
President's desk and examined the phones, but rejected them for a pocket
communicator. He lifted it and spoke at length.
"Just what are you doing?" Hamner demanded.
"You're not president yet," Falkenberg said. "You won't be until you're sworn
in, and that won't happen until I've finished. And there's nobody to accept
your resignation, either."
"What the hell?" Hamner looked closely at Falkenberg, but he could not read
the officer's expression. "You do have an idea. Let's hear it."
"You're not president yet," Falkenberg said. "Under Budreau's proclamation of

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martial law, I am to take whatever actions I think are required to restore
order in Refuge. That order is valid until a new President removes it. And at
the moment there's no President."
"But Budreau's surrendered! The Freedom Party will elect a President."
"Under Hadley's constitution only the Senate and Assembly in joint session can
alter the order of succession. They're scattered across the city and their
meeting chambers have been burned."
Sergeant Major Calvin and several of Falkenberg's aides came to the door. They
stood, waiting.
"I'm playing guardhouse lawyer," Falkenberg said. "But President Budreau
doesn't have the authority to appoint a new president. With Bradford dead,
you're in charge here, but not until you appear before a magistrate and take
the oath of office."
"This doesn't make sense," Hamner protested. "How long do you think you can
stay in control here, anyway?"
"As long as I have to." Falkenberg turned to an aide. "Corporal, I want Mr.
Hamner to stay with me and you with him. You will treat him with respect, but
he goes nowhere and sees no one without my permission. Understood?"
"Sir!"
"And now what?" Hamner asked.
"And now we wait," John Falkenberg said softly. "But not too long . . ."
* * *
George Hamner sat in the council chambers with his back to the stained and
punctured wall. He tried to forget those stains, but he couldn't.
Falkenberg was across from him, and his aides sat at the far end of the table.
Communications gear had been spread across one side table, but there was no
situation map; Falkenberg had not moved his command post here.
From time to time officers brought him battle reports, but Falkenberg hardly
listened to them. However, when one of the aides reported that Dr. Whitlock
was calling, Falkenberg took the earphones immediately.
George couldn't hear what Whitlock was saying and Falkenberg's end of the
conversation consisted of monosyllables. The only thing George was sure of was
that Falkenberg was very interested in what his political agent was doing.
The regiment had fought its way back to the Palace and was now in the
courtyard. The Palace entrances were held by the Presidential Guard, and the
fighting had stopped. The rebels left the guardsmen alone, and an uneasy truce
settled across the city of Refuge.
"They're going into the Stadium, sir," Captain Fast reported. "That cheer you
heard was when Banners gave 'em the President's resignation."
"I see. Thank you, Captain." Falkenberg motioned for more coffee. He offered a
cup to George, but the Vice President didn't want any.
"How long does this go on?" George demanded.
"Not much longer. Hear them cheering?"
They sat for another hour, Falkenberg with outward calm, Hamner with growing
tension. Then Dr. Whitlock came to the council room.
The tall civilian looked at Falkenberg and Hamner, then sat easily in the
President's chair. "Don't reckon I'll have another chance to sit in the seat
of the mighty," he grinned.
"But what is happening?" Hamner demanded.
Whitlock shrugged. "It's 'bout like Colonel Falkenberg figured. Mob's moved
right into the Stadium. Nobody wants to be left out now they think they've
won. They've rounded up what senators they could find and now they're fixin'
to elect themselves a new president."
"But that election won't be valid," Hamner said.
"No, suh, but that don't seem to slow 'em down a bit. They figure they won the
right, I guess. And the Guard has already said they're goin' to honor the
people's choice." Whitlock smiled ironically.
"How many of my technicians are out there in that mob?" Hamner asked. "They'd
listen to me, I know they would."
"They might at that," Whitlock said. "But there's not so many as there used to

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be. Most of 'em couldn't stomach the burnin' and looting. Still, there's a
fair number."
"Can you get them out?" Falkenberg asked.
"Doin' that right now," Whitlock grinned. "One reason I come up here was to
get Mr. Hamner to help with that. I got my people goin' round tellin' the
technicians they already got Mr. Hamner as President, so why they want
somebody else? It's workin' too, but a few words from their leader here might
help."
"Right," Falkenberg said. "Well, sir?"
"I don't know what to say," George protested.
Falkenberg went to the wall control panel. "Mr. Vice President, I can't give
you orders, but I'd suggest you simply make a few promises. Tell them you will
shortly assume command, and that things will be different. Then order them to
go home or face charges as rebels. Or ask them to go home as a favor to you.
Whatever you think will work."
It wasn't much of a speech, and from the roar outside the crowd did not hear
much of it anyway. George promised amnesty for anyone who left the Stadium and
tried to appeal to the Progressives who were caught up in the rebellion. When
he put down the microphone, Falkenberg seemed pleased.
"Half an hour, Dr. Whitlock?" Falkenberg asked.
"About that," the historian agreed. "All that's leavin' will be gone by then."
* * *
"Let's go, Mr. President." Falkenberg was insistent.
"Where?" Hamner asked.
"To see the end of this. Do you want to watch, or would you rather join your
family? You can go anywhere you like except to a magistrate—or to someone who
might accept your resignation."
"Colonel, this is ridiculous! You can't force me to be president, and I don't
understand what's going on."
Falkenberg's smile was grim. "Nor do I want you to understand. Yet. You'll
have enough trouble living with yourself as it is. Let's go."
George Hamner followed. His throat was dry, and his guts felt as if they'd
knotted themselves into a tight ball.
The First and Second Battalions were assembled in the Palace courtyard. The
men stood in ranks. Their synthi-leather battledress was stained with dirt and
smoke from the street fighting. Armor bulged under their uniforms.
The men were silent, and Hamner thought they might have been carved from
stone.
"Follow me," Falkenberg ordered. He led the way to the Stadium entrance.
Lieutenant Banners stood in the doorway.
"Halt," Banners commanded.
"Really, Lieutenant? Would you fight my troops?" Falkenberg indicated the grim
lines behind him.
Lieutenant Banners gulped. Hamner thought the Guard officer looked very young.
"No, sir," Banners protested. "But we have barred the doors. The emergency
meeting of the Assembly and Senate is electing a new President out there, and
we will not permit your mercenaries to interfere."
"They have not elected anyone," Falkenberg said.
"No, sir, but when they do, the Guard will be under his command."
"I have orders from Vice President Hamner to arrest the leaders of the
rebellion, and a valid proclamation of martial law," Falkenberg insisted.
"I'm sorry, sir." Banners seemed to mean it. "Our Council of officers has
decided that President Budreau's surrender is valid. We intend to honor it."
"I see," Falkenberg withdrew. He motioned to his aides, and Hamner joined the
group. No one objected.
"Hadn't expected this," Falkenberg said. "It would take a week to fight
through those guardrooms." He thought for a moment. "Give me your keys," he
snapped at Hamner.
Bewildered, George took them out. Falkenberg grinned widely. "There's another
way into there, you know. Major Savage! Take G and H Companies of Second

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Battalion to secure the Stadium exits. Dig yourselves in and set up all
weapons. Arrest anyone who comes out."
"Sir."
"Dig in pretty good, Jeremy. They may be coming out fighting. But I don't
expect them to be well organized."
"Do we fire on armed men?"
"Without warning, Major. Without warning. Sergeant Major, bring the rest of
the troops with me. Major, you'll have twenty minutes."
Falkenberg led his troops across the courtyard to the tunnel entrance and used
Hamner's keys to unlock the doors. Falkenberg ignored him. He led the troops
down the stairway and across, under the field.
George Hamner stayed close to Falkenberg. He could hear the long column of
armed men tramp behind him. They moved up stairways on the other side,
marching briskly until George was panting. The men didn't seem to notice.
Gravity difference, Hamner thought. And training.
They reached the top and deployed along the passageways. Falkenberg stationed
men at each exit and came back to the center doors. Then he waited. The
tension grew.
"But—"
Falkenberg shook his head. His look demanded silence. He stood, waiting, while
the seconds ticked past.
"MOVE OUT!" Falkenberg commanded.
The doors burst open. The armed troopers moved quickly across the top of the
Stadium. Most of the mob was below, and a few unarmed men were struck down
when they tried to oppose the regiment. Rifle butts swung, then there was a
moment of calm. Falkenberg took a speaker from his corporal attendant.
"ATTENTION. ATTENTION. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MARTIAL
LAW PROCLAMATION OF PRESIDENT BUDREAU. LAY DOWN ALL WEAPONS AND YOU WILL NOT
BE HARMED. IF YOU RESIST, YOU WILL BE KILLED."
There was a moment of silence, then shouts as the mob realized what Falkenberg
had said. Some laughed. Then shots came from the field and the lower seats of
the Stadium. Hamner heard the flat snap of a bullet as it rushed past his ear.
Then he heard the crack of the rifle.
One of the leaders on the field below had a speaker. He shouted to the others.
"ATTACK THEM! THERE AREN'T MORE THAN A THOUSAND OF THEM, WE'RE THIRTY THOUSAND
STRONG. ATTACK, KILL THEM!" There were more shots. Some of Falkenberg's men
fell. The others stood immobile, waiting for orders.
Falkenberg raised the speaker again. "PREPARE FOR VOLLEY FIRE. MAKE READY.
TAKE AIM. IN VOLLEY, FIRE!"
Seven hundred rifles crashed as one.
"FIRE!" Someone screamed, a long drawn-out cry, a plea without words.
"FIRE!"
The line of men clambering up the seats toward them wavered and broke. Men
screamed, some pushed back, dove under seats, tried to hide behind their
friends, tried to get anywhere but under the unwavering muzzles of the rifles.
"FIRE!"
It was like one shot, very loud, lasting far longer than a rifle shot ought
to, but it was impossible to hear individual weapons. "FIRE!"
There were more screams from below. "In the name of God—"
"THE FORTY-SECOND WILL ADVANCE. FIX BAYONETS. FORWARD, MOVE. FIRE. FIRE AT
WILL."
Now there was a continuous crackle of weapons. The leather-clad lines moved
forward and down, over the stadium seats, flowing down inexorably toward the
press below on the field.
"Sergeant Major!"
"SIR!"
"Marksmen and experts will fall out and take station. They will fire on all
armed men."
"Sir!"
Calvin spoke into his communicator. Men dropped out of each section and took

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position behind seats. They began to fire, carefully but rapidly. Anyone below
who raised a weapon died. The regiment advanced onward.
Hamner was sick. The screams of wounded could be heard everywhere. God, make
it stop, make it stop, he prayed,
"GRENADIERS WILL PREPARE TO THROW." Falkenberg's voice boomed from the
speaker. "THROW!"
A hundred grenades arched out from the advancing line. They fell into the
milling crowds below. The muffled explosions were masked by screams of terror.
"IN VOLLEY, FIRE!"
The regiment advanced until it made contact with the mob. There was a brief
struggle. Rifles fired, and bayonets flashed red. The line halted but
momentarily. Then it moved on, leaving behind a ghastly trail.
Men and women jammed in the Stadium exits. Others frantically tried to get
out, clambering over the fallen, tearing women out of their way to push past,
trampling each other in their scramble to escape. There was a rattle of
gunfire from outside. Those in the gates recoiled, to be crushed beneath
others trying to get out.
"You won't even let them out!" Hamner screamed at Falkenberg.
"Not armed. And not to escape." The Colonel's face was hard and cold, the eyes
narrowed to slits. He watched the slaughter impassively, looking at the entire
scene without expression.
"Are you going to kill them all?"
"All who resist."
"But they don't deserve this!" George Hamner felt his voice breaking. "They
don't!"
"No one does, George. SERGEANT MAJOR!"
"SIR!"
"Half the marksmen may concentrate on the leaders now."
"SIR!" Calvin spoke quietly into his command set. The snipers concentrated
their fire on the Presidential box across from them. Centurions ran up and
down the line of hidden troops, pointing out targets. The marksmen kept up a
steady fire.
The leather lines of armored men advanced inexorably. They had almost reached
the lower tier of seats. There was less firing now, but the scarlet-painted
bayonets flashed in the afternoon sun.
Another section fell out of line and moved to guard a tiny number of prisoners
at the end of the Stadium. The rest of the line moved on, advancing over seats
made slick with blood.
When the regiment reached ground level their progress was slower. There was
little opposition, but the sheer mass of people in front of them held up the
troopers. There were a few pockets of active resistance, and flying squads
rushed there to reinforce the line.
More grenades were thrown. Falkenberg watched the battle calmly, and seldom
spoke into his communicator. Below, more men died.
A company of troopers formed and rushed up a stairway on the opposite side of
the Stadium. They fanned out across the top. Then their rifles leveled and
crashed in another terrible series of volleys.
Suddenly it was over. There was no opposition. There were only screaming
crowds. Men threw away weapons to run with their hands in the air. Others fell
to their knees to beg for their lives. There was one final volley, then a
deathly stillness fell over the Stadium.
But it wasn't quiet, Hamner discovered. The guns were silent, men no longer
shouted orders, but there was sound. There were screams from the wounded.
There were pleas for help, whimpers, a racking cough that went on and on as
someone tried to clear punctured lungs.
Falkenberg nodded grimly. "Now we can find a magistrate, Mr. President. Now."
"I—Oh my God!" Hamner stood at the top of the Stadium. He clutched a column to
steady his weakened legs. The scene below seemed unreal. There was too much
blood, rivers of blood, blood cascading down the steps, blood pouring down
stairwells to soak the grassy field below.

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"It's over," Falkenberg said gently. "For all of us. The regiment will be
leaving as soon as you're properly in command. You shouldn't have any trouble
with your power plants. Your technicians will trust you now that Bradford's
gone. And without their leaders, the city people won't resist.
"You can ship as many as you have to out to the interior. Disperse them among
the loyalists where they won't do you any harm. That amnesty of yours—it's
only a suggestion, but I'd renew it."
Hamner turned dazed eyes toward Falkenberg. "Yes. There's been too much
slaughter today. Who are you, Falkenberg?"
"A mercenary soldier, Mr. President. Nothing more."
"But—then who are you working for?"
"That's the question nobody asked before. Grand Admiral Lermontov."
"Lermontov? But you were drummed out of the CoDominium! You mean that you were
hired—by the admiral? As a mercenary?"
"More or less." Falkenberg nodded coldly. "The Fleet's a little sick of being
used to mess up people's lives without having a chance to—to leave things in
working order."
"And now you're leaving?"
"Yes. We couldn't stay here, George. Nobody is going to forget today. You
couldn't keep us on and build a government that works. I'll take First and
Second Battalions, and what's left of the Fourth. There's more work for us."
"And the others?"
"Third will stay on to help you," Falkenberg said. "We put all the married
locals, the solid people, in Third, and sent it off to the power plants. They
weren't involved in the fighting." He looked across the Stadium, then back to
Hamner. "Blame it all on us, George. You weren't in command. You can say
Bradford ordered this slaughter and killed himself in remorse. People will
want to believe that. They'll want to think somebody was punished for—for
this." He waved toward the field below. A child was sobbing out there
somewhere.
"It had to be done," Falkenberg insisted. "Didn't it? There was no way out,
nothing you could do to keep civilization. . . . Dr. Whitlock estimated a
third of the population would die when things collapsed. Fleet Intelligence
put it higher than that. Now you have a chance."
Falkenberg was speaking rapidly, and George wondered whom he was trying to
convince.
"Move them out," Falkenberg said. "Move them out while they're still dazed.
You won't need much help for that. They won't resist now. And we got the
railroads running for you. Use the railroads and ship people out to the farms.
It'll be rough with no preparation, but it's a long time until winter—"
"I know what to do," Hamner interrupted. He leaned against the column, and
seemed to gather new strength from the thought. Yes. I do know what to do.
Now. "I've known all along what had to be done. Now we can get to it. We won't
thank you for it, but—you've saved a whole world, John."
Falkenberg looked at him grimly, then pointed to the bodies below. "Damn you,
don't say that!" he shouted. His voice was almost shrill. "I haven't saved
anything. All a soldier can do is buy time. I haven't saved Hadley. You have
to do that. God help you if you don't."

XII
Crofton's Encyclopedia of Contemporary History
and Social Issues (2nd Edition)
MERCENARY FORCES
Perhaps the most disturbing development arising from CoDominium withdrawal
from most distant colony worlds (see Independence Movements) has been the
rapid growth of purely mercenary military units. The trend was predictable and
perhaps inevitable, although the extent has exceeded expectations.

Many of the former colony worlds do not have planetary governments.
Consequently, these new nations do not possess sufficient population or

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industrial resources to maintain large and effective national military forces.
The disbanding of numerous CoDominium Marine units left a surplus of trained
soldiers without employment, and it was inevitable that some of them would
band together into mercenary units.
The colony governments are thus faced with a cruel and impossible dilemma.
Faced with mercenary troops specializing in violence, they have had little
choice but to reply in kind. A few colonies have broken this cycle by creating
their own national armies, but have then been unable to pay for them.

Thus, in addition to the purely private mercenary organizations such as
Falkenberg's Mercenary Legion, there are now national forces hired out to
reduce expenses to their parent governments. A few former colonies have found
this practice so lucrative that the export of mercenaries has become their
principal source of income, and the recruiting and training of soldiers their
major industry.

The CoDominium Grand Senate has attempted to maintain its presence in the
former colonial areas through promulgation of the so-called Laws of War (q.
v.), which purport to regulate the weapons and tactics mercenary units may
employ. Enforcement of these regulations is sporadic. When the Senate orders
Fleet intervention to enforce the Laws of War the suspicion inevitably arises
that other CoDominium interests are at stake, or that one or more Senators
have undisclosed reasons for their interest.

Mercenary units generally draw their recruits from the same sources as the
CoDominium Marines, and training stresses loyalty to comrades and commanders
rather than to any government. The extent to which mercenary commanders have
successfully separated their troops from all normal social intercourse is both
surprising and alarming.

The best-known mercenary forces are described in separate articles. See:
Covenant; Friedland; Xanadu; Falkenberg's Mercenary Legion; Nouveau Legion
Etrangere; Katanga Gendarmerie; Moolman's Commandos . . .
FALKENBERG'S MERCENARY LEGION
Purely private military organization formed from the former Forty-second
CoDominium Line Marines under Colonel John Christian Falkenberg III.
Falkenberg was cashiered from the CoDominium Fleet under questionable
circumstances, and his regiment disbanded shortly thereafter. A large
proportion of former Forty-second officers and men chose to remain with
Falkenberg.

Falkenberg's Legion appears to have been first employed by the government of
the then newly independent former colony of Hadley (q.v.) for suppression of
civil disturbances. There have been numerous complaints that excessive
violence was used by both sides in the unsuccessful rebellion following
CoDominium withdrawal, but the government of Hadley has expressed satisfaction
with Falkenberg's efforts there.

Following its employment on Hadley, Falkenberg's Legion took part in numerous
small wars of defense and conquest on at least five planets, and in the
process gained a reputation as one of the best-trained and most effective
small military units in existence.
It was then engaged by the CoDominium Governor on the CD prison planet of
Tanith.

This latter employment caused great controversy in the Grand Senate, as Tanith
remains under CD control. However, Grand Admiral Lermontov pointed out that
his budget did not permit his stationing regular Marine forces on Tanith owing
to other commitments mandated by the Grand Senate; after lengthy debate the
employment was approved as an alternative to raising a new regiment of CD

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Marines.
* * *
Tanith's bright image had replaced Earth's on Grand Admiral Lermontov's view
screen. The planet might have been Earth: it had bright clouds obscuring the
outlines of land and sea, and they swirled in typical cyclonic patterns.
A closer look showed differences. The sun was yellow: Tanith's star was not as
hot as Sol, but Tanith was closer to it. There were fewer mountains, and more
swamplands steaming in the yellow-orange glare.
Despite its miserable climate, Tanith was an important world. It was first and
foremost a convenient dumping ground for Earth's disinherited. There was no
better way to deal with criminals than to send them off to hard—and
useful—labor on another planet. Tanith received them all: the rebels, the
criminals, the malcontents, victims of administrative hatred; all the refuse
of a civilization that could no longer afford misfits.
Tanith was also the main source of borloi, which the World Pharmaceutical
Society called "the perfect intoxicating drug." Given large supplies of borloi
the lid could be kept on the Citizens in their Welfare Islands. The happiness
the drug induced was artificial, but it was none the less real.
"And so I am trading in drugs," Lermontov told his visitor. "It is hardly what
I expected when I became Grand Admiral."
"I'm sorry, Sergei." Grand Senator Martin Grant had aged; in ten years he had
come to look forty years older. "The fact is, though, you're better off with
Fleet ownership of some of the borloi plantations than you are relying on what
I can get for you out of the Senate."
Lermontov nodded in disgust. "It must end, Martin. Somehow, somewhere, it must
end. I cannot keep a fighting service together on the proceeds of drug
sales—drugs grown by slaves! Soldiers do not make good slavemasters."
Grant merely shrugged.
"Yes, it is easy to think, is it not?" The admiral shook his head in disgust.
"But there are vices natural to the soldier and the sailor. We have those, in
plenty, but they are not vices that corrupt his ability as a fighting man.
Slaving is a vice that corrupts everything it touches."
"If you feel that way, what can I say?" Martin Grant asked. "I can't give you
an alternative."
"And I cannot let go," Lermontov said. He punched viciously at the console
controls and Tanith faded from the screen. Earth, bluer and to Lermontov far
more lovely, swam out of the momentary blackness. "They are fools down there,"
Sergei Lermontov muttered. "And we are no better. Martin, I ask myself again
and again, why can we not control—anything? Why are we caught like chips in a
rushing stream? Men can guide their destinies. I know that. So why are we so
helpless?"
"You don't ask yourself more often than I do," Senator Grant said. His voice
was low and weary. "At least we still try. Hell, you've got more power than I
have. You've got the Fleet, and you've got the secret funds you get from
Tanith—Christ, Sergei, if you can't do something with that—"
"I can urinate on fires," Lermontov said. "And little else." He shrugged. "So,
if that is all I can do, then I will continue to make water. Will you have a
drink?"
"Thanks."
Lermontov went to the sideboard and took out bottles. His conversations with
Grand Senator Grant were never heard by anyone else, not even his orderlies
who had been with him for years.
"Prosit."
"Prosit!"
They drank. Grant took out a cigar. "By the way, Sergei, what are you going to
do with Falkenberg now that the trouble on Tanith is finished?"
Lermontov smiled coldly. "I was hoping that you would have a solution to that.
I have no more funds—"
"The Tanith money—"
"Needed elsewhere, just to keep the Fleet together," Lermontov said

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positively.
"Then Falkenberg'll just have to find his own way. Shouldn't be any problem,
with his reputation," Grant said. "And even if it is, he's got no more
troubles than we have."

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